


Sleeping Beauty

by missafairy



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Alternative Universe - No Island, Falling In Love, Family, Single Parents, single parent
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-24
Updated: 2016-02-13
Packaged: 2018-04-23 05:48:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 43,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4865372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/missafairy/pseuds/missafairy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Olicity AU: Oliver is a single parent, has a small daughter called Sadie and his first meeting with Felicity doen't go as expected. Moreover Sadie's meetings with Felicity also don't go as expected! Love story, no Island, Oliver is not the Arrow. Oliver is a dad of Princess Sadie and meets his Queen :) <br/>10 chapters of an actual story!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sleeping Beauty

**Author's Note:**

> My second fanfic, first multichapter, also posted on other sites under my username. Chapter edited by my awesome tumblr friend :) I hope you'll like it!

"Daddy! Daddy, wake up."

Oliver blinked sleepily and felt his bed dip a little as his daughter tried to climb on to it.

"Sadie, what are you doing in here?" he groaned still half asleep. Sadie grabbed on to his face in an attempt to pull herself up, and he gently pushed her hands away.

"Woke up. Your clock is loud."

"My clock?" Oliver froze. His eyes opened rapidly and found the clock. "Oh… Sadie, go to your room and get dressed." His hands grabbed his mobile from the bedside cabinet. 6 missed calls. Perfect.

Sadie just giggled and shook her head in a you're so silly way. She was only three. She had no idea how to dress herself.

"Just go to your room and wait for me," he amended. She darted out of the room, and Oliver took a deep breath. "Fuck my life! It's going to be a long day," He added quietly when she left the room.

Xxx

"Oh man. You should take it easy tonight. After all, you haven't had a day off in ages!" Tommy laughed as he sipped his beer slowly.

"Dads don't take days off," Oliver responded tiredly. A night off was about all he could get. His friend, John Diggle, and his wife agreed to take care of Sadie tonight. Honestly, Oliver would have preferred going to bed instead of sitting in a club with an already drunk Tommy.

"It's been almost three years since you've been out! I know John wants you settle down, but you need some fun! Look over there."

Oliver looked where Tommy pointed to see a young woman who was sitting alone on a bar stool. She looked… polished. Her light pink bottom up was ironed perfectly, and her gray high heels matched her pencil skirt.

"These girls are the best. Shy and sexy! Why would she be in a place like that if it wasn't for some fun?"

Oliver looked at his friend a little annoyed. He knew these girls too well. They were like mermaids seducing sailors and then pulling them into the dark depth of ocean. Nothing would come of a night with one of them, but despite his hesitance, Oliver couldn't take his eyes off her. She was sipping a colorful drink with such grace and elegance. He wondered what a girl like that was doing in this place alone.

"Okay man, close your mouth!" Tommy laughed as he stood. He looked down at his phone before sighing deeply. "I've got some business to attend to. Go talk to her! I hope you remember how to flirt. And if I can't make it back, you better call me and tell me if she is as good as she looks!"

Oliver tried to convince him to stay, but all he got was a promise to be back shortly. He ordered a scotch and drank the whole thing before walking up to her hesitantly. Oliver sat on the bar stool next to the pretty blonde and ordered another scotch. He knew it was wrong. He knew he should go home to Sadie and read her a bedtime story, but he was tempted. He had to rapidly change his lifestyle when his daughter was born. He never regretted that. He loved her and he thought she was the best thing that happened in his life. He didn't deserve this chubby piece of sunshine that wakes him up every morning. He couldn't do this. He rose from the bar stool to head home but his eyes rested on the woman beside him. She sipped on her drink while looking around hesitantly. Her purse was hanging from the back of her chair, and he accidently touched it when he stood up. Her phone was ringing, unless she set up her purse on vibration mode…

"Hey, I think your phone is ringing" said Oliver to the young woman who looked at him a little surprised.

"What?!" she reached for her purse immediately "Thank you, I wouldn't want to miss that" she smiled at him sheepishly.

Oliver looked at her as she picked up her phone and turned her back to him as she started talking. She had a beautiful smile. He wondered what an actual conversation with her would be like.

"Great, just great," she grumbled as she shoved her phone back in her purse.

"Is everything okay?" asked Oliver. His eyes darted down to her lips, waiting for her to smile again.

"Yeah, it's just my friend. She can't come tonight. Her car is broken. It hit a wall or something like that. Nothing happened to anyone, though," she added quickly. "No one was in the car. The handbrake failed. So, now she just left me here in this strange place alone. Not that you needed to know that."

"Well, not alone," Oliver pointed out to her with a smile. "Let me buy you a drink." He couldn't believe he actually said that! He was supposed to go home.

"No, thank you. I should go home."

"So should I," he responded, but neither of them moved.

"My name is Oliver, and you are… a girl with a pretty smile." He shouldn't have had so much to drink.

He was bold, too bold. But her smile was so honest and beautiful that he couldn't help himself. His compliment made her smile again.

"Felicity. And thank you, I guess."

"So what do you want? Another colorful drink?" she looked at him hesitantly but nodded her head.

"The more colors the better" she grinned.

"So Oliver… what are you doing here? You don't look like you enjoy being here?"

MY FRIEND LEFT ME HERE ALONE SO I COULD TAKE YOU TO BED, Oliver thought.

"My friend had to leave early and left me in this place alone, too," Oliver laughed.

"I guess we are alone together. Not together, I mean we're alone… Not we, you are alone and I am alone. In here. Not in life. I mean I am, but I don't know if you are and I really don't care."

"Do you always talk this much?" Oliver didn't feel as nervous. In fact, he was truly feeling the enormous amount of alcohol in his system. It scared him a little, but he shook it off when she blushed so beautifully. Tommy was right. Shy and sexy.

"Yes, I tend to babble a lot. The drinks don't help, you know?"

"But you like them, don't you?" Was he flirting with her?

"I think I do. But, I hardly ever drink them. Usually I don't go to places like this," she confessed. "It's my first time since college. I haven't drank this much since then. Maybe now I will buy you a drink!"

"No way, my lady! All drinks on me tonight!" He enjoyed talking to her. That's why he didn't want to stop anytime soon.

xxx

"You must feel lonely, being alone in a foreign city. You're very brave."

"Brave or insane," Felicity whispered. Her cheeks were flushed, and her speech a little slurred. "Maybe both. I'm sitting in a night club with an extremely handsome stranger who can't seem to stop staring at me."

"Maybe both," Oliver agreed. "Maybe I am too? I am sitting in a night club with an extremely beautiful stranger who can't stop staring at me."

Felicity knew it was wrong. She knew she would regret it later. She was not that kind of girl. She has never done this before, let alone with a stranger from a bar. They moved closer to each other, looking in each other eyes, and suddenly, his hands were on her waist. She should have flinched, but she didn't.

She didn't register the moment when Oliver's lips touched hers. Her hands wrapped around his shoulders and pulled him closer, letting him deepen the kiss. His hands moved at her waist and traveled up her back. Suddenly, Felicity broke the kiss.

"Not here, Oliver," she gasped. She got up from her chair and straightened her skirt and blouse. Oliver stood as well. He was breathing fast, his head spinning. He wasn't sure he could walk. Felicity grabbed his hand and led him to the exit. As soon as they felt the cool air, they started kissing. Oliver's mouth found her neck, and Felicity laid her head back giving him more access. The only sounds were their lips on one another. Felicity giggled.

"So beautiful while laughing," Oliver commented. Felicity couldn't stop giggling. He pushed her gently towards one of the cabs waiting on the curb. Fussy thought scatter throughout her mind. Her body was pressed against his, and she felt every muscle and heartbeat against her chest. She wasn't a one night stand type of girl. She had everything under control, her life was calm and boring and she liked it. People kept telling her to let it go a little. And now she was letting it go on a back seat in a cab. He felt so good.

His masculine scent filled her as he traced a pattern on her neck with his lips.

"Your place or my place?" she gasped between sharp breaths and pulled him even closer. Oliver thought of Sadie. He couldn't do it, could he? Besides, she was probably sleeping by now, and she loved the Diggles and their daughter, Sara. She'd be fine until morning.

"Your place," whispered Oliver before her lips pressed against his again.

Not long after that, Oliver carried Felicity into her apartment. Her legs were tangled around his waist clumsily, and he couldn't walk straight. In a small corridor, she dropped her purse and shoes and let him carry her into the bedroom. They stood right next to the door, and Oliver stiffened. He remembered how his last one night stand ended.

"Um Felicity, I don't have…"

"I do. Wait here," she ordered. Felicity walked to the corridor and found her purse. Meanwhile, Oliver felt the enormous urge to close his eyes. He leaned against the wall, letting his eyes close for just a minute. At least he thought so before he found himself in a peaceful, dreamy world.

"I don't know which one you want," Felicity said uncertainly as she walked back in to the bedroom. She wanted to laugh at the absurdity of all of this. "This seems so weird. Please tell me you aren't married or something?"

When she entered her room, she saw Oliver laying on the floor in a weird half sitting position. She did laugh then.

"Oh no, please tell me you're not dead! Are you dead?" Felicity kneeled beside him and shook his arm.

That's when she heard him snore. "Well, asleep is better than dead," she surmised. She was strangely relieved that he wasn't dead, and that she didn't do anything stupid. She took a pink blanket from her bed and covered him.

"Sleeping beauty," she whispered to herself. "And I thought I drank too much."

XXX

When the alarm clock went off, Felicity jumped in her bed, her head pounding.

"What the hell," a rough voice groaned.

Her eyes landed on Oliver who was still on the her floor.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty." Felicity smiled at him sheepishly. Her smile warmed up Oliver's heart and despite the obvious hangover, he smiled back at her.

"What happened?" he asked as he got up. "Did we…um?"

"No. No, nothing happened. Thank God! I mean, not that it would be a tragedy,I hope not, but I'm glad we didn't."

"I'm glad too. I didn't want to regret it in the morning. We shouldn't have. It was wrong."

"You fell asleep before anything could happen," she teased him.

"So you covered me with this cute, pink, fluffy blanket and changed into this cute, pink, but not so fluffy pajamas?" Oliver chuckled and shook his head, but regretted it immediately. His head felt like a train wreck.

"Oh… yeah. And we slept in separate beds. I mean I slept in bed and you? You slept on the floor."

"I don't know if it's hangover, or I'm just sore because your floor isn't very comfortable," he began.

"Both, I think" Felicity smiled again and for a while they stood in an awkward silence looking at each other.

"Your smile really is beautiful." Now it was Oliver Queen who said it making her blush, not Jack Daniels.

"You are beautiful."

"Thank you. And you really are handsome."

"So since this is awkward enough already… Maybe we could have a coffee together?" he asked hesitantly. He hoped she would say yes. After all, it couldn't get worse, could it?

"Why not?"

"But maybe not today? I feel… Well, let's say I don't feel very well."

"Me neither. Tomorrow? 1 pm? There's a coffee shop near that club," she

"I'll be waiting."

They were standing in awkward silence again. Felicity was blushing. Oliver's phone rang, and they both jumped and laughed releasing some tension.

"I should probably take this," Oliver stated when he saw Diggle on the screen.

"Go ahead, Sleeping Beauty," Felicity teased him again.

"I have a feeling that I'm only the sleeping part. You are the beauty. See you tomorrow?" Oliver asked as he headed to the front door.

"See you tomorrow," said Felicity with a grin and waved him goodbye.


	2. Coffee Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleeping Beauty is late for a coffee date because Tommy is babysitting ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know how it all works yet :/ So... this chapter as well as the previous one is edited by my tumblr friend apollosgirlfriend.co.vu THANK YOU you're amazing! All mistakes in notes are mine.

"Sadie? Where are you?" Oliver yelled. He'd left his daughter on the couch where she was watching Frozen for the tenth time today, but she wasn't there anymore.

"In my room, Daddy. I'm painting!" said a tiny voice in response.

Oliver walked into his daughter's room, and he definitely didn't like what he saw there. Sadie was standing near a wall, the new paint she got from Diggle yesterday all over her clothes, hands, floor, and the wall. She was painting on the wall! That view left Oliver speechless.

"Look! Elsa! She's blue." When no response came from Oliver, Sadie turned around and looked at him with wide eyes. "Do you like Anna more?" She asked sounding a little worried.

"I like it more when you paint on paper," he managed to respond. He couldn't be mad though. He tried. He painted this wall three months ago, but his little princess could paint this on his most expensive suit and he would still admire her art.

"Daddy, paper is too small!" Sadie wailed as she shook her head."Elsa is blue, and so am I!" she stated proudly as she pointed to the blue paint on her shirt. She moved to a different spot, pointing at yet another color. "And pink. Do you want me to paint you too?"

"Since you already colored the wall, I think there's no harm in painting me there, too. What do you think?" He walked up to her she hugged his leg with her pink hands. It reminded him of Felicity and her fluffy blanket. He had to tell Sadie he's going out soon. He hoped that this mess won't make him late.

"What color?" asked Sadie looking thoughtful.

"Green. Do you know which one that is?" She shook her head. Oliver pointed to her. "Like your skirt."

"Kay!"

Sadie grabbed a brush and found the green paint before continuing her work on more of the wall. He knew he shouldn't have, but he thought it was cute. Cute like Felicity. He really liked her. He should tell her about Sadie though. They are going just for coffee, but he has to be honest with her, even if he was afraid she'd run away. His phone rang, which pulled Oliver out of his thoughts. He rolled his eyes when he saw the caller ID.

"Hi Tommy, where are you?" he asked a little anxious. He hoped Tommy would be here on time, and he wouldn't be late to meet Felicity. He couldn't wait for their date. But it was it a date? They never really clarified what it was.

"What do you mean late? I don't care that you've just got up." Oliver was panicking. Just like Tommy. "That was your idea to leave me in that club. And I've never thought I'll say this, but it wasn't your worst idea." It turned out to be a very good idea. "Get your tail here right now." Oliver hung up the phone before turning to his daughter.

"Come on, little one, we have to clean that paint of your face," Oliver said while picking up Sadie. She hugged him and grabbed his face with her paint-covered fingers. "And my face," he chuckled. "You're going to stay with Uncle Tommy today, okay? Daddy has to go somewhere, but not for very long, I promise."

"Okay. Tom is funny. What's his favorite color?"

"I have no idea, ask him later." He looked at his daughter, and he was pretty sure his face looked like rainbow. She looked very proud of herself.  
When Tommy finally arrived, Oliver was trying to make Sadie look like a polite child. He managed to get some of the paint off her face and hair, but spots were dried on her clothes.

"I thought you'd never come," Oliver huffed. Sadie held his hand, but she looked terribly offended that she didn't have pink hair anymore.

"I know, I know! This is the part when you tell me about responsibility, right?" Tommy made a weird face and touched Oliver's chin. "Man, why do you have paint on your face?" Oliver gave him a glare and Tommy took a step back, his grin growing. "Sadie, why do you have paint... everywhere?"

"That's a long story. Little princess, go to Uncle Tommy. Daddy will be back soon. Call me if you need me and make sure she eats dinner." He kissed his daughter goodbye and let Tommy carry her to the living room. He was almost thirty minutes late. He hoped Sadie would give his extremely late friend a hard time by painting him pink from head to toe.

xxx

Felicity was waiting in a small coffee shop. She didn't have Oliver's phone number, he didn't have her phone number, and she was cursing herself for not thinking about it when he was asking her out. That headache was a powerful distraction. She thought she would wait an hour, but not any longer. Sitting in front of the shop by the window, she finally saw Oliver running on the sidewalk. She smiled to herself and waved to him when he saw her. His face lit up when he came inside and stood next to the table she occupied.

"Hello beautiful, waiting for someone?" he teased. "Maybe a late jerk who doesn't have your phone number?" Felicity was smiling, and Oliver could tell she wasn't mad.

"How did you know?" she giggled.

"Sorry, it was an emergency," Oliver admitted as he sat next to her.

"Is that paint on your face?" Felicity questioned as she moved closer to him.

"I... Please tell me it's not pink."

Felicity giggled again. "It's not pink. It's green." She smiled sheepishly. "Oh, wait there's pink on the other cheek."  
Oliver rolled his eyes and sighed.

"It's a long story. Maybe we should order something first?"

"Yes, totally, but I doubt it will be better than staring at your face." Felicity blushed, her cheeks as pink as Sadie's paint. Oliver started thinking of his daughter again. He had to tell Felicity about her. "I can't believe I just said that."

"Well, if I was smart, I would've washed my face. But I wanted to get here before you left."

"Well, it's a good thing that I kind of like the paint," she teased. They got their orders, and while waiting in line, they talked about everything and nothing. Oliver marveled at how easy it was to talk to her.

"About the paint thing," Oliver started. He hoped she won't leave when she found out. She still had something to eat and drink. He didn't know how to define their meeting. He considered it a date, but he didn't know if she did. If it wasn't a date... well, maybe he could wait to tell her about Sadie.

"Don't worry. You still look manly, even with a pink cheek. Okay, why do you have a serious face?"

"Because... I'm wondering if... Do you consider this a date?" Oliver couldn't help himself. He just said what he thought, and he hoped he wouldn't regret it. He didn't. Felicity smiled shyly and looked in his eyes.

"You invited me, you tell me," she whispered hesitantly.

"Then it's a date," Oliver smiled sincerely. He was about to open his mouth and blurt out that he has a daughter, but he panicked. He really liked her. He didn't want to ruin it. "So tell me... where do you work at?"

"Steele Incorporated. I'm an IT girl. What about you?"

"You work for Walter Steele?" Oliver's smile died on his face. Walter Steele was his mother's new husband. He never had a good relationship with his mother. After a very long argument, she kicked him out of the house. He deserved it, but they never really reconciled. She married Walter not too long after that. "He's my mother's husband. He also helped me a lot when I was starting as a CEO of Queen Consolidated."

"Are you two close, you and your mother?"

"No, not at all. Last time I talked to her was three years ago. Walter only helped me because my father asked him to. And I think he never told my mother. I... wasn't a perfect son. Actually, I was the furthest thing from it. My father was just like me, so I had a good relationship with him. We had a similar lifestyle. When he died, I started doing even more crazy things."

"I'm sorry." Felicity covered Oliver's hand with hers, and he couldn't focus on anything but her touch.

"I haven't talked to my mom, but I told you that already. You may not remember though. You were very drunk."

"Hey, I was just very tired," Oliver pointed out playfully. Speaking of sleeping, Sadie was probably taking a nap already. He should be going home, but he couldn't bring himself to it. He was just sitting there, staring at Felicity. He hadn't even noticed when they started holding hands. There was just something about her...

Xxx

By late afternoon, Oliver and Felicity were walking the streets of Starling City talking about a movie they've just seen. Their date turned out to be a lot longer than Oliver and Felicity thought at first. The evening was warm, and Felicity felt comfortable in her purple dress. They left Oliver's car in a parking lot next to the coffee shop, which they were on their way back to. Oliver's phone rang, interrupting their loud laughing.

"Sorry, I hope it's nothing important," Oliver said while checking his phone. It was Tommy. He wanted Oliver to go out for three years now, so he wouldn't interrupt his date unless something happened. "I have to take this."

Felicity just smiled and nodded her head. She wondered why he suddenly seemed so nervous.

"What's up?" Oliver sighed as he answered the phone. He was listening to what Tommy was saying, his walk becoming slower and slower, until it finally stopped.

Felicity walked a few more steps before she whispered "I'll wait there," and pointed on a bridge before them.

"You did what? Make her stop screaming, Tommy, I can't hear you. Is she hurt?" asked Oliver trying to keep his voice quiet, but anger and worry were taking the best of him.  
"Okay, okay. I'm not surprised. I would start crying too! Try to calm her down. I'll be back soon," Oliver promised. So, that's it for his nice date. He walked up to Felicity, placing a hand on her shoulder. She turned around with a smile.

"Did something happen?" she asked with concern in her voice. Oliver thought there wouldn't be a better moment.

"I have a daughter," he said, watching her face. She raised her eyebrows in shock and waited for further explanation. He was glad she didn't shrug his hand from her shoulder. "I left her with my friend, and... I'm sorry, I have to go home."

Felicity was standing in front of him a little startled, but finally managed to say something. "Oh! Is she okay? You look worried."

"Yes, she's fine. My friend, who acts more like a child than mine sometimes, started teaching her baseball in the apartment. He hit the TV, and she wanted to watch Malascar this evening and..." Was Oliver babbling? Yeah, he definitely was.

"Wait, what?" Felicity tried her best not to show her confusion

"Um, Madagascar. She can't pronounce it, she says Malascar." Felicity laughed when she realized, and Oliver joined her. "But I left Tommy and a baseball bat in one place, and I should've known better, but-"

"Now she can't watch it because the TV is broken so she's crying?" Felicity finished his sentence smiling sadly. Oliver nodded.

"Exactly. And she got terribly scared, too and now she can't calm down. I'm not sure if she can understand the movie, probably not, she's not even 3, but she's enchanted by it."

"What's her name?" asked Felicity hesitantly. She wanted to ask about girl's mother, but she knew she shouldn't. Not yet.

"Sadie."

"It's nice! I named my teddy bear Sadie when I was little. It was pink, and he sang something when I squeezed his hand. And I'm rambling again. The point is I've always liked that name," she gushed as she shook her head and blushed.

"Pink teddy bear named Sadie? That's funny. Sadie loves pink."

"So do I!" Felicity giggled as they walked to Oliver's car.

"I'm driving you home, right?"

"No, I can walk. You should go back to Sadie before she drowns your friend with her tears," Felicity chuckled. The remnants of her blush came back full force. "Do you want my number? I mean, if you don't, that's fine -"

"First of all, what kind of guy would I be letting you walk when I promised I'd drive you? It's not that far out of the way, so please let me keep my promise," he added with smile. "And I definitely want your number in case I'm late for the next date." Oliver realized what he said, a blush of his own formed. "I mean, that is if you want to go out with me one day again?"

"Now you're babbling! I thought it was my thing," she laughed beautifully. "Of course I want to go out with you again!" She knew a child was a serious situation, but she really liked Oliver and wanted their relationship to be an actual relationship one day. She didn't believe in love at first sight, but she felt like she could easily fall in love with him.

Oliver felt relief washing over him as she said it. Felicity made herself comfortable in the passenger seat. They quickly exchanged phone numbers before Oliver started the car.

"Do you have a special place where you want to go next time? Or do you want me to guess?"

Felicity laughed again. "Guess!"

"Okay. I'll call you tomorrow. Deal?"

"Deal. I just hope you're not that kind of a guy who says he'll call but never calls," she teased. She knew he would call. He had it written on his face.

They were near Felicity's apartment when her eyes rested on a billboard. An idea sparked in her mind.

"You could buy her a new TV on your way home, you know? You still have an hour before Malascar starts," she said thoughtfully. "And don't look at me like that! I've always had trouble with it, too."

"I'm looking like that at you because it is a great idea." He parked the car in front of the building where Felicity's apartment.

"Thank you. I'm surprised you remembered the way," she said amazed.

"I told you! I wasn't drunk, just tired." They both laughed in unison.

"And thank you for the date. I haven't had so much fun since... Honestly, since the last time we met. Minus the headache."

"And embarrassment when I found myself covered with your lovely blanket."

"Hey, my blanket is cute!" Felicity tried to look offended, but she was failing miserably. She blushed when Oliver leaned a little closer to her.

"Is that weird that I want to kiss you on the first date?" He desperately needed her to say no.

"We were making out on a cab seat last time, and it wasn't even a date, so I think a goodbye kiss is okay." Felicity was blushing perfectly and looking at him a little shyly. He leaned a little more and pressed his lips to hers.

"See you soon, beauty," he whispered.

"Don't fall asleep while driving, sleepy man."

"Not a chance, I have a TV to buy." He couldn't believe he winked at her when he said it.

Xxx

"Sadie? Tommy? I'm home!" Oliver put the huge box on the floor in the corridor. He heard the sound of little feet on the floor before he saw Sadie running towards him. She was obviously crying, her little cheeks flushed while her sobs shook her small body. Oliver kneeled near the new TV, and Sadie hugged him like her life depended on it.

"Tom not funny, not funny!" she cried as he gently picked her up and carried to the living room. Tommy sat on the couch with a puppy dog eyes.

"Hey Oliver! You look handsome!" Oliver gave him a glare, and Tommy got up from the couch.

"That TV was old and ugly, anyways!" Oliver admitted. Tommy glanced behind him in the hall, seeing the new box.

"Yeah, that's why you bought a brand new one twice as big as the old and ugly one."

Oliver grinned. "And now go make it work. You have 10 minutes."

"Yes sir!"

"New TV?" asked Sadie a little confused, because "new TV" was all she got from what her dad said.

"Yes sweetie, new TV so we can watch Malascar together." Sadie hugged him even tighter while Tommy was hooking up the new TV. Oliver was actually impressed he managed to do it right the first time.

"Okay, man, it's all done! Sorry, I had no idea she'll get scared like that! It wasn't that loud when it crashed."

"Thank you for taking care of her," Oliver said as he smiled at Tommy.

"She's adorable, and I'm glad to help you go out more! See you at work. You'll get your money back tomorrow."

"Tom!" Sadie shouted as the movie started. "Can you watch with us?"

"Sadie's right! You just bought us an amazing, EXPENSIVE TV, so you can at least look at it," Oliver teased.

"Haha, very funny! Only for Sadie," he smiled when the girl laid her head on his shoulder. "And after she falls asleep you're going to tell me everything about your date."

"Sure! I'm really glad you left me in that club and never came back, you know?"

"I know. I can see it in your eyes," Tommy pointed out with a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :) You can find me on tumblr under the same username- missfsmoak. All nice comments are requested and appreciated :)


	3. Sunset

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was edited by my precious angel http://olicityandsteroline.tumblr.com/   
> I hope you'll like it :)

"Oliver, you have to be sure. 100% sure before Sadie meets her," said John. "I told you that one day you'll meet someone and you'll know, but when it comes to…"

"I know John, okay? I know, when it comes to Sadie I have to be sure," Oliver was sitting on the sofa watching a game with his friend John Diggle. Sadie and Sara were playing in another room where Lyla was reading a book while watching them.

"Are you sure?" his friend insisted. Oliver looked at him and sighed.

"I don't know. Honestly saying I have no idea. What if I really want it and she doesn't?"

"Then you'll be in trouble because you're crazy about her," John smiled knowingly. "You said she wasn't discouraged when you told her you have a daughter? Did something change in the past three months?"

Oliver searched through his memories. He's been dating Felicity for a few months now. She found out about Sadie on their first date and after that she's been asking about her frequently. Oliver felt like he could tell her anything. They have already talked about Julia, who was Sadie's mother. She was a one night stand, one of the many in Oliver's past. He mentioned Laurel, his ex-girlfriend who dumped him after she found out Oliver knocked up Julia, her high school friend. It was the worst time of Oliver's life. His father died, his mother had a breakdown and Oliver was looking for comfort in random girls' pants. The crucial moment was when Oliver got a call from the hospital Julia was giving birth at. She had some serious complications and Oliver found himself the baby's only parent. He never wanted to raise his child, he was meant to send money to Julia, but when he saw his little girl all he could think of was her. His daughter was born a little too early and he couldn't even leave the hospital; he was sitting by her side day and night. Oliver thought it was a great time to change his chaotic life and that's when he met Diggle. Dig's sister-in-law got Oliver a job at Big Belly Burger and he was trying to finish college and learn how to fulfill his father's wish and become the CEO of the family business Queen Consolidated. After a few months of studying hard and trying to be a good father he was finally prepared to work at QC. His sister Thea, his best friend Tommy and Dig were the only people who didn't turn their backs on him. Thea and Tommy called the little girl Sadie and bought her a lot of toys and clothes and Dig helped Oliver find an apartament and taught him how to take care of his daughter.

"Nothing changed," said Oliver after a while "She was shocked, sure, but she wanted to meet me again and again. And she even said she's going to teach me how to braid Sadie's hair."

"Not a chance. Lyla and Thea tried and failed, if there's anything you can't do that's it," laughed Diggle.

Oliver only shook his head, got up from the sofa and leaned on the doorframe and smiled at the sight of Sadie and Sara playing together.

"Mom, where is my new book?" asked Sara "Sadie didn't see it."

"On your book shelf. I'll go and get it," said Lyla and went to Sara's room. "Do you want to drink something girls?" she shouted.

"Orange juice mom. For Sadie too." shouted Sara. She was a little older than Sadie, she had already turned 3 while Sadie's birthday was in two weeks. Lyla returned to the room with a book and two glasses of juice. Sara went straight to the table to drink and Sadie walked to Lyla who was holding a small book.

"Can you read it mom?" Sadie asked Lyla looking at the book. Lyla inhaled deeply and looked at Oliver who suddenly tensed and looked at his friend's wife with wide eyes. He walked up to Sadie and took her in his arms.

"Aunt Lyla is not your mom sweetheart," said Oliver kissing her on the forehead.

"Sara calls her mom," Sadie hugged Oliver tightly and looked at Lyla shyly. Oliver didn't know what to say. He hoped for this conversation to happen years later.

"Because your aunt Lyla is Sara's mom and uncle John is Sara's dad," Oliver tried to stay calm. He didn't really know Julia, but he remembered how he felt when the nurse told him the bad news "I am your dad and you don't have a mom. It happens, you know? Some people don't have moms."

"Why?"

"Just because. I told you, it happens. But I think aunt Lyla can read you a book" All he could think of was ending this talk. Oliver hoped his daughter would focus on the book now. He looked at Lyla who smiled sadly and nodded her head. She placed Sadie on her lap and started reading. Not long after that Sara joined them sitting on the carpet and listening to the story.

That night Oliver felt relief washing over him when he was looking at his sleeping little princess who didn't ask about her mom again.

xxx

Felicity was sitting on her bed watching Frozen. She'd never seen it before, but she decided she has to catch up on movies like that because Oliver's daughter loved them. Sadie couldn't understand them, but she could watch them day and night and she wouldn't get bored. Oliver said she was very talkative. She started talking very early, but couldn't walk for a long time. Now, she was watching those movies and repeating everything her favorite characters were saying.

They had already talked about Felicity meeting Sadie and Felicity was beyond excited and terrified. She knew Oliver didn't want her to meet Sadie too soon, so he tried to get to know Felicity first. She thought that watching the girl's favorite movies made her somehow involved in her life even if she didn't know her yet. Her relationship with Oliver was going well, and Felicity was falling in love with this accidently met man. She was glad nothing really happened after their meeting in the club. She was supposed to meet her friend and flirt with some handsome guys, but fortunately things ended differently.

Felicity heard her phone and looked at the text message from Oliver "What's up beauty?"

She smiled to herself and texted back "All good, watching Frozen :) You?"

"I'm wondering if you like Italian :D"

"Haha I do!" Felicity texted and waited impatiently for his reply.

"You, me, pizza and sunset?"

"When and where? The sooner the better, I can't wait :)"

"I'll pick you up at 6pm, Saturday. I love your high heels, but leave them at home this time ok?" said Oliver.

"Jeans and sneakers?"

"Yup. And pray for no rain"

"See you on Saturday then?"

"cu sadie woke up gotta go sorry." Felicity could see Oliver was replying in hurry.

"Have a nice day you two! :)" She replied and collapsed on the bed wondering how Oliver wanted to spend Saturday evening with her.

xxx

After what seemed like ages of waiting Felicity was sitting in the passenger seat in Oliver's car. She could see Oliver eyeing her from head to toe with a small grin on his face. After the very hot day the evening was hot too so Felicity decided to wear short jeans and a top.

"So where are we going?" asked Felicity smiling at Oliver who started driving down the street.

"You'll see," he laughed. "I want to show you my favorite place in the world. And the best pizza in the world."

They both smiled and drove further in comfortable silence. They were enjoying being so close to each other after a few days of not meeting. They left town and after a few more kilometers Oliver stopped his car near a bar in the forest. Felicity waited as Oiver left to get the best pizza in the world.

"After 5 minutes we'll be in the right place," said Oliver as he got into the car. He placed a huge pizza on the back seat and Felicity took a whiff of the mindblowing smell.

"I can't wait," smiled Felicity "I didn't know I was hungry until now!" Oliver only laughed and kept driving.

Felicity was looking out the window. They were driving on a road in the forest and behind the trees Felicity could see a big lake. The sun was shining, she could see it between the trees and she could see the golds, reds, oranges, yellows and pinks of the setting sun glistening on the water. The view was amazing. Felicity didn't even notice when Oliver stopped his car next to a small wooden house. Amazed, Felicity got out of the car. The house was on a hill so when Felicity stood next to it she could see the beautiful beach below.

"Oliver, this place is gorgeous!" Oliver walked up to her and placed one of his arms around her waist.

"Yes, it is. My dad used to take me here for one weekend every year. My mother never liked this place, but she doesn't want to sell it. And she won't give me the keys of course, but I still like coming here. Sadie loves building sand castles. I mean she loves watching me building sand castles. One day, when she grows up a little I want to come here for a camping trip. You know, we'll bring a tent and…" Oliver watched Felicity who was smiling at him kindly when he was talking. "… and I think we should eat our pizza before it gets cold."

"I didn't know you could talk that much!" smiled Felicity and followed Oliver down the hill towards the beach "The more time we spend together the more you talk. I like it."

"I like more when you're talking."

"I'm babbling nonsense and I make those sick innuendos." Felicity blushed and in the red light of sunset her cheeks almost matched her bright red lips.

They sat on a small wooden bridge and started eating pizza. It really was the best pizza in the world. They weren't talking, just sitting close to each other, Olivevr's arm around Felicity's waist and her hand holding his shirt, pulling him closer to her. Oliver snuggled in the crook of Felicity's neck and kissed her collar bone. In response Felicity reached for his face and pressed her lips against his. She tangled her fingers in the short hair on the back of his head and felt his hands on her hips. They broke the kiss and looked in each other's eyes.

"I missed you," whispered Felicity as Oliver cradled her cheek. They didn't have time to meet this week and they both thought it was the longest week of their lives.

"I missed you too," said Oliver quietly kissing her once again. He felt so good around her. He hoped Sadie would feel it too when she finally meets her.

Today his little girl was wondering where her daddy was going instead of staying and painting with her, but she was happy when she saw Tommy who came to take care of her. Today he promised to stay away from the basebal bat and tv. Oliver and Felicity were hugging on the bridge and watching the red sun disappearing in the lake.

"Does anyone come here?" asked Felicity. "I don't think so. But maybe sometimes…"

Both Oliver and Felicity were sitting on the edge of the bridge and put their feet into the water. The evening was very warm and the water felt nice.

"Do you wanna swim?" Oliver looked at Felicity with a spark in his eyes. Felicity laughed "What? In clothes? You didn't say I should bring a swimsuit!"

"I didn't consider every possible scenario. I thought we'll go for a walk, but I like it better here…"

"Me too," confessed Felicity.

"Besides who says we would swim in clothes?" Felicity looked at him shyly. The more they met the less shy she was, but apparently doing something as crazy as considering an unplanned swim in the lake still made her shy.

"So maybe we could swim a little? That's if you want to… Not that I'm saying we should just take off our clothes and jump into the lake, I'm pretty sure that might be dangerous. And I could accidently focus on your naked body instead of swimming… But it's dark already so I wouldn't see that much…" Oliver stopped her babbling by getting up and still looking at her, slowly took his shirt off. Felicity saw the perfect curves of his abs and opened her mouth in a soundless gasp. She stood up too and after a moment her top was laying on the bridge next to Oliver's shirt. Oliver took Felicity's hand and pulled her gently towards the beach. After a few steps Oliver picked her up and carried her running on the shore. Felicity was giggling. "You know, besides our first meeting that would be the craziest thing I've ever done!"

"What!? Don't tell me you didn't do crazy things when you were in high school or college," said Oliver who wished to forget his craziest actions from his time at school.

"I… Besides the fact I was a Goth back then… And that I wrote an unstoppable computer virus for my masters degree… No, it wasn't that crazy!" squealed Felicity when her feet touched the still warm sand.

She slowly unbuttoned her shorts and watched Oliver do the same. Before he took them off he found his mobile in the pocket and made sure it wasn't muted so he could hear Tommy calling. Holding Felicity's hand Oliver walked up to the lake. Before his feet touched the water Felicity stopped and gently pulled him back.

"Did you change your mind?" asked Oliver trying not to sound disappointed.

"I thought we weren't going to swim in clothes," Felicity giggled sheepishly "what you're wearing looks like a piece of clothing…"

"Then you're wearing two pieces of clothing, my lady." After his comment Felicity blushed and Oliver noticed her breaths were faster and shallow, just like his.

"Do you think we're alone?" Felicity reached for the clasp of her bra. They were standing on the beach fighting the urge to make out like teenagers. Oliver nodded and Felicity turned around so her back was to his chest.

"Ready?" he asked after a while.

"Who first in the lake?" asked Felicity who was trying her best not to look at Oliver's perfectly shaped body. She could feel his gaze on her back and she wasn't sure if it was the light breeze or his breath that she felt on her neck.

"I'll go first," said Oliver and they both started running and splashing in the cool water until they started swimming.

"So cold, so cold! I'm so cold!" Felicity was yelling and Oliver was only laughing. It was so easy around her. "I think I was first," shouted Felicity and laughed when Oliver stood in the water and tried to reach for her.

"I let you win."

"No, I was totally first and you lost," teased Felicity and squealed when Oliver started splashing water around him saying she should join him in a water fight.

It was already dark when Oliver and Felicity were on their way home. They were talking about their work, free time, about the whole week they spent without each other. Oliver's phone beeped another time this evening and he asked Felicity to read the message.

"It's from Tommy," she said. "It says: we're both still alive. Sadie has just fallen asleep," Felicity read.

"Just? It's almost midnight," Oliver murmured. After this night Oliver was 100% sure. He hoped Felicity was too.

"Maybe the next time we'll both spend some time with Sadie instead of leaving her with Tommy?"

Felicity looked at him with a smile. "I'd be beyond happy to meet her finally. And terrified too! Not that I think she's scary or something, I just don't know anything about kids and I'm worried…"

"Felicity," Oliver interrupted, "we're going to figure it out, okay? I'd like you to meet her before her birthday party I told you about. What are you doing on Monday after work?"

"Meeting Sadie apparently?" Felicity smiled sheepishly and Oliver smiled back at her.

He was a little scared too. Sadie knew Dig, Thea and Tommy, but she didn't meet a lot of new people. He hoped she will like Felicity. They had a lot in common after all. They both were adorable, talked a lot and loved pink. Felicity was right next to Sadie in his heart, the woman he loved the most.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :) All nice comments are requested and appreciated :) Sorry for possible mistakes in notes. There's a good reason why the chapters have to be edited ;)


	4. Fairytale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sadie meets Felicity finally!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This time also http://olicityandsteroline.tumblr.com/ edited the chapter. If you have tumblr go check out :) I also have a tumblr account under the same username as here. I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter! :)

Oliver woke up before the alarm clock went off. He was looking at Sadie who was still sleeping and breathing deeply next to him. She woke up in the middle of the night and came to him saying the bedtime story was too short and he has to tell her a story again. She fell asleep again before Oliver said the famous words "Once upon a time…". Sadie was hugging her huge purple elephant called Elly she got from Thea yesterday. Because of his daughter and her beloved toy Oliver was trying not to fall out of the bed. He was feeling the edge of his bedside cabinet right next to his spine all night. Oliver turned off the alarm and gently tickled Sadie's foot.

"Wake up little princess," he sang "Sara is waiting for you!" Sadie wasn't going to kindergarden. Oliver thought there will be time for that later. Lyla quit her job when Sara was born and she agreed to take care of both Sara and Sadie. Girls loved each other and about 2 months ago Oliver and Lyla had to start buying them the same clothes because the girls wanted to look like twins. Every morning before Sadie and Sara were supposed to meet, he got a text from Lyla saying what Sara is wearing so he could dress Sadie the same way. Lyla loved this idea because Oliver didn't know how to dress his daughter up, and most of the time, Sadie looked like a rainbow unicorn.

"Daddy stop, you're hurting Elly. That's her foot!" Sadie sat on the bed trying to pull her toy's leg that Oliver had under his knee.

"Oh… okay. Get up, I'll go and make the breakfast ready"

"Fine" said Sadie looking thoughtful "What do you think ephants eat?"

"Elephants, Sadie. Elly is an elephant," said Oliver slowly, "and I'm pretty sure she doesn't have to eat. Your hugs are all she needs to live."

When Sadie was eating breakfast Oliver started thinking of today's evening. Sadie was meant to meet Felicity today. When Oliver told her about it yesterday she only asked why and was apparently satisfied when Oliver answered that he likes his new friend. Sadie sometimes asked questions just because she wanted to ask them, not because she wanted an answer. Oliver told Sadie that they are going to have a special guest and it's going to be a lot of fun. He promised he and his friend will play with her and read her stories she loved the most. Oliver's daughter didn't pay much attention to that. She kept saying "fine" after every sentence Oliver said and when her dad asked her to say something else she asked him to carry her new, huge cuddly elephant to her bedroom. Oliver didn't know if it's a good thing or a bad thing.

Sadie didn't know how important this guest was for her father. She understood what he was saying, but playing with Thea and Elly was so much more fun than listening to her dad's babbles. Thea, on the other hand, was very interested. She found out about Felicity from Tommy some time ago and after that she couldn't stop bugging Oliver about her.

"Dad, hug her too!" The tiny voice pulled Oliver out of his thoughts.

"What?" asked Oliver confused. Sadie looked at him and rolled her eyes.

"Hug my ephant dad," she said shaking her head in disbelief that her dad didn't know what she is talking about. "Elly has to stay at home. I don't want her to be sad. Hug her." Oliver hugged the purple animal awkwardly and carried it back to Sadie's room. It's going to be a long day at work. Oliver couldn't wait for the evening meeting with Felicity. He was both nervous and thrilled, and he felt like the time has slowed down. Or maybe Sadie was eating so slowly? Who knew?

xxx

Felicity was sitting in her office typing furiously on her computer keyboard. Her boss, Mr. Steele knew she was a computer geek so she was the one who was doing all the most difficult tasks. Today Felicity was trying to do all her tasks very quickly. In a few hours, right after work she had a meeting with Oliver and Sadie. Her eyes drifted to the beautifully wrapped gift for the little girl. Felicity didn't know what to buy. She wasn't even sure if Oliver will be okay with it. She only hoped Sadie would like it and, what is more important, like her. As soon as Felicity found out about meeting Sadie she started looking for the gift. She spend whole Sunday at the store where she had been staring for some cuddly animals for hours. Felicity knew Oliver's daughter loved Disney movies. All animated movies to be honest. When Felicity started panicking that she hadn't bought anything yet and the shopwas about to close she saw two beautiful cushions with Elsa and Anna from "Frozen". She didn't think twice. That's how the fluffy cushions found themselves under Felicity's desk at work. She was meant to head to Oliver's apartament when she got off. Oliver promised to serve her his famous chicken soup for dinner.

"Miss Smoak, have you managed to look through the files I gave you already?" asked a low voice and Felicity raised her head to look at Walter Steele.

"Yes, I have. I'm sending them back to you with the report I've just written," she answered and her boss nodded in response. Felicity went back to work and Walter looked at his watch.

"That's your lunch break," he noticed.

"Yes, I know. I want to go home a little earlier today so I'm not taking the break today," Felicity explained.

"You can still take the break. You work a lot faster than anyone in this departament so feel free to go." Felicity smiled started wondering why is he still standing next to her desk. She tensed in her chair and looked at Mr. Steele who was looking at her with a strange expression.

"Did something happen?" she asked shyly.

"No, no…" He took a deep breath. "Do you know Tommy Merlyn?"

Felicity didn't know what to say. She heard of him for sure; he was Oliver's best friend and the reason why Oliver started talking to her in the club. Tommy also took care of Sadie sometimes, when she and Oliver were on a date.

"Not personally, I've never met him. Why? Not that I think you should explain yourself from asking me questions, I'm just wondering… Nevermind." Felicity blushed and bite her inner cheek in embarrassment.

"He's a frequent guest in my house. He spends a lot of time with my stepdaughter, Thea."

"I know that. He's really close with Thea and Oliver…" Felicity opened her eyes wide. Why couldn't she stay quiet?

"About that," started Walter before she managed to open her mouth again. "I know it's none of my business, but I heard Tommy and Thea talking one day. They didn't know I was at home. I wanted to ask you if it's possible they were talking about you and now I know. Of course you don't have to tell me anything, but Oliver was my best friend's son. I tried to help him the best I could, and I even tried to convince my wife to start answering his calls… She's stubborn though"

"Oliver mentioned that," said Felicity, her heart racing. She didn't know where this conversation may lead. Walter only smiled.

"Thea refused to talk to us about her brother…"

"So do I. Not about my brother, I don't have one, but I meant Oliver," Felicity clarified. She was scared Walter would keep asking, but he only nodded.

"Please tell him to call me. I need new investors for some of my projects," said Felicity's boss and left Felicity alone.

"That was weird," she muttered to herself and kept working, trying not to think about this awkward conversation.

xxx

Felicity parked in front of the building where Oliver's apartment was at. She slowly started walking towards the entrance carrying the not so small gift for Sadie. She was a little too early, and she decided to wait on a bank next to the entrance. There was no traffic jam,which surprised Felicity. That's why she arrived half an hour before she was meant to. She was happy about it because she didn't mind waiting. Plus, she didn't want to be late. A few minutes had passed, and she saw Oliver's car going across the parking lot. She knew he had to pick up Sadie from Diggle's house. Oliver got out of the car and helped his daughter get out. Right after that, he saw Felicity waiting on a bank and immediately checked his watch. Felicity could see him let his breath out in relief that he wasn't late. Felicity's eyes drifted to the girl that was holding his hand. She was very tiny, her hair was blonde and curly, and… covered in dirt. So was her pink dress. She was wearing black tights, but Felicity knew they were white when she put them on.

"Hi Felicity," said Oliver when he walked up to her.

"Hi!"

"Have you been waiting for a long time?"

"No, I'm sorry I know I'm early, I thought there'd be a traffic jam," explained Felicity and her eyes landed on Sadie who was hiding behind her dad's legs.

"It's okay… Felicity, meet Sadie," said Oliver and gently pulled his daughter in front of him. "Sadie this is my friend Felicity. Say hi?"

The little girl hid behind her dad again, looked at Felicity sheepishly and waved her small hand, quietly saying "hello".

Felicity waved back smiling at her, also saying "hello" and they all started walking to the apartment. They walked in, and Oliver told Felicity to sit down on the sofa and wait.

"Sadie was playing with Sara in the garden and you see the effects," laughed Oliver a little nervously "I have to wash her and change her clothes, but I'll be back in a minute."

"Oliver, take your time! I'll wait, don't worry about me!" she shouted still standing and holding the gift for Sadie in her hands. She could see Oliver was stressed, and he probably wasn't expecting his daughter to look like this. Felicity looked around. She was standing in a living room. The first thing she saw was a big tv, the one Oliver bought after their first date. But it wasn't the TV that made her smile. On one of the walls there was a huge frame and in it Felicity saw a lot of photos. There was Oliver and Sadie in most of them, but in others Sadie was with a girl whose eyes looked exactly like Oliver's. Felicity thought it was probably Thea, Oliver's sister. In what looked like a Christmas selfie, there was Oliver with Sadie and Thea, along with a couple holding a girl with black curly hair. A tall, handsome man was taking a photo and tickling Sadie. Felicity thought it was probably Tommy- the tv destroyer.  
After some time Oliver walked into the room carrying clean Sadie in his arms. Her blonde curls were wet and was dressed in an elegant blue skirt with yellow flowers on it, green "Madagascar" t-shirt that seemed a little too big and pink tights in purple dots. Now you know why Lyla didn't want Oliver to dress Sadie up.

"I'm sorry you had to wait, I'm going to get the dinner ready." Felicity walked up to Oliver and Sadie who now was standing on the floor next to her dad.

"Hey, I've got something for you" said Felicity waving the bag in the air and Sadie reached for the gift sheepishly. Oliver smiled at Felicity whispering "Thank you".

"Sadie, I'm going to the kitchen to get dinner ready. Stay here with Felicity and unwrap your gift, okay?" he asked his little princess and when she only nodded as she was trying to open the gift, Oliver left.

"Um… Sadie?" said Felicity "Maybe you want to sit on the sofa? It's more comfortable than the floor." Girl looked at her with wide eyes and shook her head no.

"Do you need help?" asked Felicity when Sadie couldn't rip the paper open. The small girl pushed the gift towards Felicity who sat on the floor too. When the paper was finally taken away Sadie saw the cushions and laughed taking them in her hands and carried them to the sofa.

"Do you like them?" Felicity heard from Oliver that Sadie was very talkative and now she didn't want to say anything. She only smiled at Felicity, ran past her and disappeared in one of the rooms. Felicity was sitting on the floor alone and started wondering if she should go after Sadie or maybe call Oliver, but then she saw Sadie on the corridor dragging a huge purple elephant with her.

"City? This is my ephant Elly," said the tiny voice a little shyly and Felicity smiled in relief when Sadie walked up to the sofa and started moving the "Frozen" cushions. Small girl climbed on the sofa clumsily and she tried to pull her toy on the sofa. Felicity helped her and Sadie placed the elephant's head on the cushion with Anna on it, and then she put her head on the other cushion.

"Elly likes Anna more." Sadie explained "And you?"

Felicity smiled at the girl who was looking at her curiously "I like Olaf the most. Do you like him?"

Sadie nodded her head. "I do. He is funny. Like Tom. Tom is funny too. But not always." Sadie's eyes landed on the tv and Felicity couldn't hold a laugh. She didn't even notice when Oliver got back from the kitchen.

"Daddy, look what I got from City!" yelled Sadie and started jumping on the sofa holding her Elsa cushion in the air.

"Felicity, not City" corrected Oliver and took Sadie in his arms.

"Ficicity?" asked Sadie not liking what she said.

"Uh," sighed Oliver and reached his free arm to hold Felicity's hand "Let's go eat."

"No, dad! Carry Elly, Fishy… ty… City will carry me!" said Sadie and held her tiny arms up and reached for Felicity who took her from Oliver awkwardly.

"But Elly can stay here and sleep…"

"No dad, I asked Aunt Lyla. Ephants have to eat too."

"Elephants. Elephants. Say elephants." insisted Oliver, but Sadie was already busy admiring Felicity's earrings and totally ignored her dad.

Not long after the delicious chicken soup and some spaghetti Felicity and Sadie left to the girl's room and Oliver was cleaning the kitchen. He started thinking of Felicity and Sadie. They both seemed so happy this evening. Sadie was shy only in the beginning, apparently she thought someone in a pink dress, like Felicity, couldn't be evil. Felicity didn't know what to do at first; she kept looking at Oliver like she wanted his permission to talk to Sadie. After the dinner and some adventures with Elly, Felicity seemed a lot more at ease and immediately agreed when Sadie asked her to go and play in her room. Oliver quietly walked up to the open door of his daughter's room and stood leaning on a doorframe. Both Felicity and Sadie were sitting on the huge bed that Oliver bought because he was afraid Sadie will fall out of the smaller one. Felicity had a pink hairbrush on her lap and both of the girls were laughing and whispering to each other. Felicity was the first one who saw Oliver and looked at him smiling. Sadie turned around, stood on the bed and started waving her hand for her dad to come closer.

"Look, City braided my hair! I look like Elsa now!" said Sadie and when Oliver sat next to Felicity she hugged him with the force that made him lay on his back.

"Can you say Felicity? Please. Say Felicity. Or elephant?" asked Oliver but Sadie only shook her head and laid her head on her dad's shoulder.

"I read about it and it's normal that she can't say all words right," whispered Felicity knowing that Oliver was desperately trying to make Sadie speak correctly. "Relax, she will say it eventually."

"I hope so. You… read about it?"

"Uh… Yeah, you know I've been reading a lot about 3 year old kids lately," said Felicity who was already blushing and only Oliver's reaction stopped her from nervous babbles. Oliver smiled and grabbed her hand. His other hand was laying on Sadie's back.

"Thank you for today," said Oliver squeezing Felicity's hand.

"I should be thanking you. You know, my entire life, I had no idea what I was missing. I had so much fun today thanks to you two." Felicity laid on the bed next to Oliver and Sadie who was strangely quiet.

"Hey little princess," whispered Oliver to his daughter. "Are you awake?"

"Yes."

"Do you want to sleep?"

"Can you and City tell me a bedtime story?" asked Sadie quietly and looked at them hopefully. Oliver and Felicity exchanged glances and said "Yes" in unison. Hearing that, Sadie settled between both adults and closed her sleepy eyes.

"Once upon a time" started Oliver "there was a beautiful princess called…"

"Elly," said Sadie.

"…called Elly," Oliver continued. "She was a princess, and she lived in a beautiful castle. She was surrounded by maids and cooks, and she was living a luxury life. She hardly ever was allowed to leave the castle because her parents kept saying that outside of the castle the world is dangerous. The whole kingdom was scared because of the robbers that were bold enough to attack even royal carriages. The only person who wasn't scared to fight them was a hooded vigilante. He was tracking the bandits and saving people." Oliver looked at Felicity who was smiling at him, and she knew he was silently asking her to continue.

"One day, princess Elly was forced to travel to another kingdom. Her parents, the king and queen, couldn't do it because they were very busy. She was sitting in a carriage looking out of the window at the surroundings. Suddenly,she heard something hit the carriage and caused it to hit a tree. Someone was already moving on the roof and Elly was sure that robbers attacked them. One of them moved closer to open the carriage's door, but then Elly heard someone else landed on the roof. The Princess was very scared, but when everything seemed to calm down, she hesitantly opened the door and got out of the carriage. Then she saw the green man in a hood who saved her life. He was laying on the ground, and Elly knew he was hurt and had to help him. The girl helped him get to the carriage, and he asked her to take him to the abandoned small wooden house that was standing on the edge of the forest, right next to the lake." Felicity squeezed Oliver's hand and let him know it's his turn now.

"The vigilante had to rest and heal, so Elly decided to take care of him. She was bringing him food and water, and she gave him his fluffy blanket to make sure he wasn't freezing at night." Oliver looked at Felicity and she giggled. "And she was talking to him so he wouldn't get bored. She had an amazingly beautiful laugh, and she was a very pretty princess. The hooded man realized he couldn't take his eyes of her." Oliver knew Sadie fell asleep some time ago, Felicity thought so too, but they both continued the story. "Slowly, but faster than he was willing to admit he was falling in love with the girl."

Felicity smiled looking deep into his eyes. She decided now she has to say something. "When the vigilante was finally healed he had to go back to fighting the villains. Princess Elly understood that she couldn't leave him because her heart won't allow her to do that. She started helping him. She was finding the bad guys, and he was saving people's lives. They were working as a couple, but neither of them was ready to confess their feelings, no matter how strong they were."

"But after some time they did. They took the royal carriage and…" added Oliver

"… and drove into the sunset. And there were just them. And nothing else mattered because they knew they will be okay because they were together."

"And they lived happily ever after," finished Oliver. His eyes never left Felicity's eyes.

"Are you the vigilante from the story?" she whispered.

"Only if you are Princess Elly," he said in response and carefully, not wanting to jostle Sadie, moved closer to Felicity.

"Like the ephant!" Felicity giggled.

"Please, not you too!"

"Okay. I guess I could be the princes. F-Elly-City… Sounds good," she laughed.

"Why can't we talk about our feelings?" asked Oliver. He knew he loved her, but he couldn't tell her. Not yet.

"When did they do it in the story?"

"In some tragic circumstances probably…" started Oliver. "He thought he'd never see her again. It was his last chance"

"Her last chance was when she thought she'd never see him again. When she thought he'd be lost forever."

"Do you think life is like a fairytale?" asked Oliver.

"I hope we won't wait for tragic circumstances… Well, sometimes you can find a sleeping beauty on your floor," Felicity laughed. "Seriously… I want to think so. Because I want a happy ending."

"Me too. And I think we have a decent chance for that."

"I think so too. And I think Sadie likes me…"

"I'm sure she likes you," said Oliver and kissed Felicity's lips. "Let's go somewhere else?" he asked and got up from the bed slowly and covered sleeping Sadie with a blanket. Then he kissed her forehead goodnight and left the room with Felicity.

As soon as they found themselves on the corridor Oliver started kissing her. Felicity immediately kissed him back and tangled her legs around his waist. He wanted to carry her to bed, but he couldn't wait anymore. He pressed her back against the wall in the corridor, and she started kissing his neck, making him gasp. His hands were on her hips under her dress making her squeeze his waist even tighter. Their lips melted together again, and Oliver felt Felicity trembling with need. She felt every curve of his abs. She put her hands under his shirt to touch him, feel his heat.

"Felicity?" gasped Oliver in Felicity's ear.

"Hmm?"

"Stay. Please stay with me tonight," he whispered. It was another step in their relationship. Sadie liked Felicity, and it meant they can move on finally. Felicity opened her eyes and looked at Oliver with a soft smile.

"I have work early tomorrow. So stop moving that hand or I'll get fired for being late."

"I could hire you then," Oliver kept moving his hand along her hip.

Felicity laughed, but then suddenly stopped. "Oh no… I totally forgot, I talked to Walter Steele today, and he found out about us somehow, not that I wanted to keep it a secret, I didn't, but it's kind of awkward, he's your stepfather after all… Uh, I'm sorry! And he wants you to call him."

Oliver looked shocked but stayed calm. He gently put Felicity back on her feet. "Did he say why?"

"He said he needs an investor, but I know he doesn't and I don't know the real reason."

"Okay, thanks, I'll call him tomorrow," said Oliver, and Felicity noticed the sudden change in his behavior. He was tense and guarded, which Felicity didn't like it. She reached for his arm and started massaging the tense muscles.

"Hey… What's up?" she asked with concern. She knew she ruined the moment, but she had to tell him, otherwise she would forget again.  
Oliver only shook his head.

"Nothing," he said and both of them remained silent. Oliver didn't step back so Felicity took his face in her hands pulling him down to kiss her. The kiss was slow and sweet. It was Felicity's way to tell him it will be okay. She knew he had some troubles with his family and that he hadn't talked to them since Sadie was born.

"Do you still want me to stay?" asked Felicity hesitantly. Oliver nodded and put his arms around her waist pulling her into a hug. "Good. I want to see those abs," said Felicity with a smile, both of her hands under his shirt tracing the curves of perfectly shaped muscles.

"You've seen them already," murmured Oliver as he kissed Felicity's collar bone, leaving a tickling pattern on the side of her neck where his jaw touched her skin.

"It was dark, I didn't see anything," teased Felicity. "Did you see anything?"

"Only what was above the water." Oliver started pulling Felicity towards his bedroom and placed her on the king sized bed. Their kisses became more heated. Felicity unbuttoned his shirt and removed it. She was still holding it in her hands admiring Oliver's body when he unzipped her dress. He wanted their first time to be perfect. He wanted to go slowly. And she apparently wanted it too. Felicity leaned to kiss Oliver and in this moment she heard something in the corridor. Oliver heard it too and immediately stepped back from Felicity who tried to find the zipper of her dress. Sadie walked into the room hugging her Elsa cushion with one hand and holding a pajamas in the other. The girl was very sleepy and didn't notice anything unusual.

"Dad, did you forget that I can't sleep in clothes?" she asked looking at her dad cautiously. She fell asleep very quickly and Oliver didn't want to wake her.

"I…" Oliver panicked "I… I forgot." Oliver admitted and tried to think of a good way out of this situation. Felicity was desperately trying to find the zipper of her dress, and she was still holding Oliver's shirt in her hands. She got up, exchanged glances with Oliver and headed to the front door. Oliver followed her leaving Sadie in the bedroom.

"It was supposed be different," he said holding back a laugh.

Felicity nodded and kissed him goodbye. "I know."

"Dad! Daddy!" yelled Sadie from the bedroom.

"I'm sorry," said Oliver looking frustrated.

"What are you sorry for? You have an amazing daughter who needs your attention more than I. Go back to her before she falls asleep in clothes again," said Felicity, but then she saw the little girl standing barefoot next to them pulling Oliver's hand.

"Bye Sadie!" Felicity waved her hand and smiled to the girl.

"Bye City. Why do you need it?" she asked confused.

"Need what?"

"Daddy's shirt?" Sadie pointed at Felicity's hand. Felicity laughed nervously.

"I don't. I don't need it, I was just holding it, why would I need your dad's shirt, that's a little creepy… Oh my God!" Sadie walked up to Felicity and pulled the shirt out of her grip.

"Dad is cold without it."

"No Sadie," said Oliver picking Sadie up because he knew her feet are getting cold. "I'm not cold. But we wouldn't want Felicity to take my shirt, right?" He winked at Felicity who smiled as she struggled to find her car keys in the purse.

"Can she go now dad? I want to sleep."

Oliver opened his mouth a little shocked, but Felicity smiled walking out of the apartment and said "Sweet dreams" without sounding offended.

"Why did you do that? You don't want to sleep, I can see it," stated Oliver looking at his daughter suspiciously.

"I want to."

Oliver only sighed and carried Sadie back to his bedroom where she left her pajamas. Before he fell asleep, he noticed she put her Elsa pillow aside instead of hugging like she did before.

"Kids," he murmured. "Who understands them?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :) All nice comments are requested and appreciated :) Sorry for possible mistakes in notes. There's a good reason why the chapters have to be edited ;)


	5. Right and wrong

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> apollosgirlfriend edited it. THANK YOU SO MUCH! You're wonderful! :) I hope you'll enjoy this chapter :)

It was Tuesday afternoon. Oliver stood in his office, thinking of what Walter said. Oliver called him, just as Felicity asked. His so called step-father, knowing how stubborn his wife is, asked Oliver to take the first step and talk to his mother. Moira was constantly asking Thea and Tommy about Oliver, but they didn't want to say anything besides "He's okay". Lately, she started asking about Oliver's daughter, too, things like what's her name, how old she is. It took three years for Moira to ask about her granddaughter.

She never wanted to hear about her or Oliver before, never wanted to know them, but something had changed. Walter said it started after his friends visited the mansion with their one year old grandson. Moira knew Oliver had changed, but she couldn't forgive his behavior and all the bitter words they said to each other. The Starling Magazine had a story after Robert's death about the Queens in grief. They also wrote about Robert's help for the city, but the next day, the first page belonged to Oliver. He peed on a cop and had a lot of fun in an illegal strip club.

Oliver called Felicity. She was the one who told him to call Walter. She knew about Oliver's adventurous past, and yet she could look at it like the good advisor she was. She was always willing to hear him out, and despite the enormous amount of work she had to do, she agreed to meet him this evening. She could hear how much he needed it. Oliver also told Thea everything that Walter said. Thea agreed to take care of Sadie tonight, so Oliver could go to his girl. Thea knew she has to be patient, but every time she talked to her brother, she bugged him to tell her about Felicity. Staying with Sadie was all Thea could do to help with her brother's love life.

Oliver picked Sadie up from Diggle's house. This time, Sadie took swim in a kiddy pool. She was wet from head to toe, and of course, the first thing she did after he saw her dad was hug him.

"Dad, Aunt Lyla said you have to give me a baffing suit yesterday," Sadie said when Oliver was changing her in to some dry clothes.

"Tomorrow, Sadie. You don't have a bathing suit, sweetie," Oliver responded. "You'll have to go the pool in your clothes until we get one. I'll just give you something to change into."

"Can we buy a baffing suit?" asked Oliver's little girl.

"Bathing suit, Sadie, and yes, of course we can, but not today and not tomorrow."

"When?" Sadie didn't want to give up.

"Later. I promise we will get a bathing suit, but later." Oliver dressed Sadie in an elegant yellow skirt with white dots, and he took a purple oversized T-shirt from the closet.

"But Aunt Lyla said," Sadie started, but she stopped when she saw what her dad was holding in his hands.

"No plain T-shirts with elegant skirts," Sadie scolded, "Aunt Lyla said!"

"It looks good to me. Is this a plain t-shirt?" Oliver asked. Sadie only shrugged her shoulders. She had no idea what Lyla meant. Sadie wanted to tell Oliver what Lyla said about the bathing suit, not about the t-shirt.

"Lyla is not here, so this will work for now," said Oliver. "Besides I'm sure aunt Thea will dress you like a princess as soon as she arrives."

"Auntie?" asked Sadie excitedly. She called Thea Auntie, and Thea really liked the way it sounded. Thea was just like Tommy. She loved Sadie and wanted to show it by doing everything Sadie wanted. Sadie probably already knew Auntie would give her anything she asked for. That's how she got the Elsa dress, a pink shining princess dress, a singing dinosaur, a Disney DVD collection, and a huge purple elephant that caused a lot of trouble.

"Yes, my little princess." Oliver kissed Sadie's cheek. "Daddy has to go somewhere, but I will be back soon."

Sadie tensed. "Go where?" she asked narrowing her eyebrows.

"I'm going to see Felicity."

Sadie sat closer to her dad and reached to grab his hand. "Why?" she asked.

"Because I like her, and I want to talk to her," Oliver explained.

"Do you like Auntie?"

"Yes, of course I do." Oliver wasn't surprised. His daughter asked him about various things all the time.

"Talk to Auntie."

"I want to talk to Felicity, not to Auntie." Sadie climbed to sit on his knees and put her arms around Oliver's neck hugging him.

"Why?"

Oliver didn't know what to say. His daughter wanted more explanation than I want to…

"Because," Oliver began. "Because…"

"What?" Sadie huffed impatiently.

"Because I like talking to her." Sadie opened her mouth to say something, but she paused when she heard someone unlock the door. Thea had her own keys to Oliver's apartment.

"Auntie!" she shouted and ran to the door to greet Thea. Oliver sighed in relief.

"Hi Thea," he said walking out of the room.

"Hello big brother!" Thea hugged Sadie and kissed her small cheeks. "Ready for a hot date?" Thea wasn't sure, but it seemed like her grumpy brother SMILED.

"Let's talk about you and this new guy…"

"Roy."

"Right. So now I'm going do the same thing you have been doing for months now," said Oliver. When he spoke again his voice was higher as he pretended to speak like Thea. "How tall is he? Straight or curly hair? How did you two meet? When can I meet him? Is he older than you?"

"Okay, stop. I know I keep bugging you about your girl, but I wish I could finally meet her! She makes you smile, which in your case is a miracle!" Thea mused as she looked at her brother.

"You'll meet her one day," Oliver promised, "but now focus on that girl." He pointed at Sadie who was admiring her Auntie's ear rings.

"Yes sir!"

Oliver walked up to the door. At seeing him, Sadie turned her attention back to her father.

"Daddy!"

"What's up little princess?" asked Oliver, who was already holding the door knob.

"Stay."

"Why?" Oliver asked in confusion. His daughter NEVER asked him to stay. Besides, she loved staying with Thea, so Oliver had no idea what is this all about.

"I want you to stay," Sadie said. Thea let her go and watched her niece run towards Oliver.

"But I promised Felicity I'd visit her today. She will be sad if I don't show up."

"Good," Sadie exclaimed as she pulled her dad from the door.

"What? What's good? She will be sad, that's not good." Oliver was becoming more and more irritated. He wanted to go already! Sadie was acting strange.

"That's good," said Sadie again. Oliver looked at Thea, who was watching the scene with wide eyes. She shook her head answering the silent question: What's going on?

"Sadie!" Oliver kneeled next to his daughter and put his arms on her tiny shoulders. "That is not good. You are rude! Why do you want Felicity to be sad?"

"Because!" she yelled. Oliver expected her to start crying, but Sadie was… angry. She wanted to fight Oliver, not cry because he spoke to her with his loud voice.

"Okay, calm down you two," said Thea, who looked a little shocked. "Sadie, I bought you some cookies. We'll choose a movie and eat them! How does that sound?" Thea picked Sadie up and carried her to the living room. Oliver stood in the corridor not knowing what to do. His daughter wanted him to stay at home, but his gut told him she will be beyond happy with Thea. He was excited to see her and wanted to tell her about his day, about Walter, even about Sadie's strange behavior.

Thea looked at him and waved her hand to let Oliver know he could go. His heart hurt, and he had to tell himself again that Sadie would be okay. Thea may be spoiling her, but she was taking care of her very well. Oliver looked at his daughter again and left the apartment.

"Hello Beauty," Oliver said when Felicity opened the door.

"Hello," Felicity replied with a grin and invited Oliver into the apartment. She kissed him deeply right after he came through the door.

"I bought you some chocolates." Oliver showed her the colorful box and Felicity giggled.

"My hero!" said Felicity taking the box. "How did you know these are my favorite?" she asked, teasing him.

"You only told me a billion times," Oliver chuckled.

"I had to repeat! I was worried one day you'd buy me the awful ones." Oliver shook his head at Felicity's reply and followed her to the kitchen. Felicity took something from the oven, and Oliver smelt something wonderful. He couldn't place it. He hadn't realized that he was hungry until now. He walked up to Felicity and wrapped his arms around his waist.

"Smart, beautiful and talented… Aren't you too good for me?" he whispered. He hid his face in the crook of her neck, his fingers moving under her tank top to trace patterns on the soft skin. Felicity sensed he wasn't in the best mood, so she turned around in his embrace to meet his worried expression.

With both palms, she touched his cheeks and asked softly, "What happened?"

"Walter said my mother asks about me lately. Me and Sadie," Oliver confessed.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I don't know. He said she feels guilty for… everything that happened."

"Maybe she wants to fix everything? Don't you want to? Not that I think you should be fixing something, you weren't exactly a role model, but it wasn't your fault, it wasn't! You were raised like that. No! I mean you were probably raised well… uh, it keeps getting worse!" Oliver smiled lightly at seeing her rosy with embarrassment. Felicity took a deep breath to calm herself. "I know you blame yourself. I know you think she probably thought it was your entire fault, but you have to know she blames herself too." Felicity pulled him a little closer to hug him "You are her son; she loves you no matter what." Despite all her rambling, her words comforted him. She was right; he would never stop loving Sadie, no matter what she did. The thought of her being a teenager scared him.

"So do you think I should… I don't know… call her?" Oliver wanted to do it. Despite their harsh argument a few years ago, he missed his mother.

"I think you shouldn't miss the opportunity to make things better. As for what you should do… take two plates and forks, sit on the couch and wait for me. How does that sound?"

"Good," said Oliver as he leaned down to kiss her tempting red lips. "Very good."

"Hm… you have no idea how long I have been waiting for a kiss." Felicity stood on her tip toes, her eyes closed, lips waiting to meet his again.

"What?" laughed Oliver. "A minute maybe."

"Seemed longer to me. Kiss me again," she said, and Oliver politely obeyed.

"And again, and again," Felicity repeated as Oliver's mouth traveled down her neck. Oliver whispered her name. His body couldn't wait to get even closer to her.

"Now your turn," Oliver whispered. "Kiss me." Felicity looked at him with hooded eyes and pulled his head down to catch his lips.

Oliver and Felicity ended up making out on the couch. Their hips were meshed together, their hands all over each other's bodies. As soon as they sat on the couch, Oliver forgot all about his worries. He saw Felicity yesterday, but he felt like he had been years of solitude. Felicity's top was lying forgotten under the coffee table, his hot mouth leaving wet trails on her body, from neck to her stomach. Felicity was trying to unbutton his shirt, his name leaving her in a breathless gasp. He kept distracting her by sucking gently on her soft skin. She put her hands on his back, moving them up to his neck before she tangled her fingers in his hair.

"We're going to fall off this couch, you know that?" Felicity asked as she saw one of Oliver's hands on the floor for support.

"Mhm," he gasped. "So what do you suggest, my lady?" Oliver looked in her eyes. He wanted to leave this decision up to her.

"Take me to bed, Oliver."

She didn't have to tell him twice. Oliver's hands moved to her hips, and she lifted her legs to rest around his waist. Felicity gasped softly as Oliver picked her up and carried her to her bedroom. Felicity rocked her hips into him impatiently, which was driving Oliver crazy. They broke the kiss when Felicity's back hit a wall. Her feet touched the ground, and Oliver pushed her skirt down her legs. Oliver's pants joined the skirt on the floor. Felicity admired his perfect abs and lowered her hands to touch them. Pure desire flared in both their eyes, but love and admiration mingled with it as well. True love had burnt its way through their hearts, leaving the prettiest scar that was meant to be seen.

"Just a few more steps," Felicity sighed. Oliver knew she meant the bedroom. No one would interrupt them this time. He was sure of it. Part of him thought that maybe he was rushing things, that this night should be special. He wanted to take her to an expensive restaurant and maybe walk in the moonlight before this happened, but they couldn't wait any longer. Both he and Felicity weren't ready to say the famous three words, I love you, but they could show it in a different way. It would have been the biggest mistake if they had slept together a few months ago. Now, they knew it was not a mistake this time. It was no longer just a fling; it was a real relationship that they wanted to last forever. Oliver hummed in her ear and let Felicity pull him towards the huge bed. Her hands were traveling down his chest, feeling the dips and curves. The rest of their clothes fell to the floor, both of them lost in each other's presence. Felicity moaned from feeling Oliver's lips on her neck. Their heavy breaths filled the room as they finally collapsed on the soft mattress together, losing themselves in each other.

It was already dark outside when Oliver drove home. He could still smell Felicity's perfume on his skin; feel her hair between his fingers. His lips were still warm from hers… He wished he could have stayed there with her forever. The bed so soft, her presence comforting, but he promised his daughter to be home soon. Sadie was surely waiting for him, refusing sleep. He had to hurry to be back in time to tell her a bedtime story.

Yesterday, he told her a story with Felicity. She really liked Sadie and said playing with her was a lot of fun. Felicity remarked that she was an amazing child, cute and polite. She was beyond happy and relieved that Sadie seemed to like her, too. Oliver couldn't wait for their next meeting, which was Saturday for Sadie's birthday party. Yesterday, he felt something warm in his heart when he saw Felicity and Sadie together. He couldn't place this feeling, but he imagined them being a family. Since then, he couldn't stop thinking of it. Oliver made his way through the apartment to see Sadie and Thea lying on his bed. Thea was reading her niece a book.

"Daddy!"

Sadie got up immediately and ran towards her dad, waving her small hands in the air as a sign for Oliver to pick her up. Oliver took her in his arms and hugged her tightly.

"Hello little one! Please tell me you haven't exhausted your Aunt Thea." Oliver looked at his sister, who was smiling brightly.

"Not a chance! She was an angel, like always," Thea surmised, getting up slowly. "I have to be at Verdant early tomorrow, so I'll be going. Oh and Oliver, I'm so sorry, but I can't help you with the party. We've got some problems in Verdant. Electricity is down, so Tommy probably won't be able to help either. Sorry! Ask Digg. He'll help you for sure."

"Okay." Oliver knew he couldn't take care of Sadie and prepare the party alone, but he thought that maybe Felicity could help. "Drive safely," he added when Thea was on her way out. "And Thea? Thank you," Oliver told her sincerely. He knew meeting Felicity today was possible thanks to his sister. She made Sadie forget she didn't want to let her dad go.

"Always. But," Thea began before lowering her voice a little. "Pants," she whispered.

"What?" Oliver looked down and quickly noticed the opened zipper.

"I'm not here to judge," Thea reasoned. "I'm glad you had fun… obviously." Oliver glared at her, and Thea quickly disappeared shouting, "Goodnight!"

"Daddy?"

Sadie had her head lying on Oliver's shoulder. Her dad was trying not to laugh, and she didn't know what was so funny.

"Hmm? We're going to sleep, right? Sara will be waiting for you tomorrow." Oliver put Sadie to bed and covered her with her warm blanket, and then he lay next to her.

"I don't have a baffing suit," Sadie worried.

"Don't worry about that." Oliver tucked her hair behind her ear. "Are we reading a book or telling a story?"

"Where were you?"

"You know where, I told you. I went to see Felicity," Oliver explained. Sadie moved a little closer to him, laying her hand on his arm.

"Why? Why City?" she asked, her hand jostling Oliver's arm angrily.

"Hey… Disney princesses," Oliver started. He had an idea. "Can you name some?"

"Bella, Cinde…dede…la," Sadie started.

"Cinderella. And they fell in love with princes, right?"

"Yes. But Bella thought he's a beast!" Sadie remembered the story very well. To be honest, she knew all stories she's ever heard by heart.

"So, it's kind of like City is the princess, and I'm the prince." Oliver hoped Sadie would get the metaphor. How else could he tell her how important is Felicity to him? Sadie looked at her dad with wide eyes.

"You said I'm the princess, not City!" she almost shouted. Oliver could see the tears glistening in her eyes as she hugged her dad tightly, as if her life depended on it. He felt a dull ache in his chest. He kept calling his daughter his little princess. He hadn't thought of it when he compared him and Felicity to a sweet couple from a fairytale. He made his baby girl cry, and that was the last thing he ever wanted. Oliver immediately wrapped his arms around Sadie's tiny, shaking frame, hugging her and gently rubbing her back.

"Of course you are! You are my little princess, Sadie. And I love you the most, you know that? All I meant was… Felicity is a mermaid Ariel, and I'm Prince Eric, okay?"

Sadie wasn't moving. Oliver could only feel her heavy breaths as she tried to stop sobbing. She didn't say anything, and Oliver grew more and more worried.

"Sadie? Sadie, my sweetheart… Daddy loves you, you know that." Oliver kissed her small head, and Sadie looked at him and smiled. Oliver didn't know if she understood what he meant, but he didn't want to mention Felicity again. He hated himself today for upsetting Sadie. On the other hand, he was sure she liked Felicity yesterday. He didn't know what had changed, but something was definitely not right. Oliver started blaming himself for not spending enough time with Sadie lately. Oliver felt very tired and slowly, not thinking about his worries, was beginning to fall asleep. He would handle this tomorrow. Now, all that mattered was his daughter sleeping safe and sound by his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :) All nice comments are requested and appreciated :) Sorry for possible mistakes in notes. There's a good reason why the chapters have to be edited ;) I'm posting this story also on ff net, the same username as here. And on tumblr.


	6. The beginning

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In general this story is edited by (tumblr usernames) apollosgirlfriend(.co.vu) and olicityandsteroline. They are both AMAZING and without them posting this work would be impossible.

Felicity woke up to see the sun peeking through the curtains. The memory of Oliver laying there with her flashed across her mind, their legs tangled in the soft bed cover, her head resting on his broad chest while his fingers traced patterns on her bare back. She wished she could wake up like that at least once, but for now she could only fantasize.

Felicity sighed and got up. She was so excited for Sadie's birthday party that she barely slept that night. Felicity got up, her ironed clothes laying on the chair. She hoped she picked the right outfit and wouldn't look odd in an elegant red dress. A big gift for Sadie wrapped in pretty paper was in the closet. Felicity hurriedly dressed and was ready to head to Oliver's apartment to help with preparing the birthday party. Today Felicity was supposed to keep an eye on Sadie and Oliver would be taking care of the rest. Last time Felicity really enjoyed playing with Sadie. She braided her hair, read books to her and her fluffy toy called Elly… Sadie was the sweetest child Felicity has ever met. She laughed a lot and talked just as much as Felicity. Or maybe more? No, that's not possible.

She had been looking for a birthday gift for hours. She wasn't sure what to buy. Toys or books, clothes or something less practical? Felicity loved the tiny clothes and just couldn't help herself, she had to buy a small bathing suit with flances in the prettiest light purple and blue colors. It was summer, the sun was shining all the time and Felicity thought having a few bathing suits couldn't hurt. Then she saw a beautiful green hoodie with white flowers on it and she also had to buy it. But those things were not good enough for a birthday gift for Oliver's little girl. Fluffy Madagascar toys definitely were! From what Felicity heard, Sadie loved "Malascar". She barely understood it as Oliver said, but she would definitely enjoy these toys. That's how they ended up in Felicity's car when she drove down the street heading to Oliver's apartment.

Meanwhile Oliver was fighting with his little daughter who apparently didn't enjoy the idea of Felicity taking care of her. Oliver had no idea what was going on. Lately everytime he mentioned Felicity Sadie acted insane. He could swear his daughter loved Felicity when she met her!

"No! No, no…" she was running from Oliver who was chasing her in an attempt to dress her up.

"Sadie, come here right now! I'm losing my patience! Dress up and eat your pancake," Oliver was truly annoyed. He wanted to make this day amazing for his precious girl, but she was making it extremly difficult.

"No, no, no! No, dad, no!" she looked like she was going to start crying again. Oliver's heart hurt, but Sadie was being rude, he spoiled her by doing everything she wanted and now he had to pay for it. He couldn't let her win again. He stood in the middle of the room and decided to use his loud voice.

"Now!" Sadie stopped immediately, shocked by her dad's reaction. She shrugged her arms and wandered slowly towards the kitchen. When she started eating her breakfast, Oliver felt guilt overwhelming him when Sadie lowered her small head to avoid his gaze.

"Hey, do you want more pancakes?" he asked, but heard no response. Sadie kept eating not looking at Oliver, clearly offended. "Do you want hot chocolate?" Oliver sat beside her, "I'll make you the one you like the most." Sadie looked up and Oliver saw the spark in her eyes, but a second later it was gone and Sadie shook her head.

"No, I don't like," said little girl angrily. Oliver rolled his eyes.

"What do you like?" he asked, but heard no answer. His little girl was very stubborn. She wanted hot chocolate for sure, Oliver knew it. "Please be nice to Felicity, okay? She will be here soon." Sadie still wasn't looking at him, apparently she found her empty plate very interesting. "Okay?" he repeated.

"No!" Sadie yelled and ran past him to her room where she wanted to spend whole day. Oliver tried his best to stay calm. He loved Sadie. He loved her more than anyone could imagine, but he was truly annoyed right now. What was this all about?

"Sadie! Come back here right now!" he shouted and headed to her room. He found her there sitting on the floor hugging her "Ephant Elly". What he felt in this moment hurt him more than anything ever hurt.

"Sadie? Sadie my little princess…" hearing her dad she hid her small head in the toy's arm. Sobs shook her tiny frame and she hugged the toy even tigher. Oliver walked up to her, sat clumsily on the floor and wished he knew what to do next. "Hey little one… I'm sorry, I didn't want to shout at you." Sadie stopped crying and looked at him hesitantly. "Tell me what's wrong. I thought you liked City? She braided your hair and told you a bedtime story." Oliver tried to remind Sadie of how much she liked that. "So?" Sadie looked confused. She didn't get her dad's ramblings. The minute she wanted to say something the bell rang. "Great," Oliver thought. He only hoped Sadie wouldn't be so moody anymore today. But as they say a man can hope, right? Oliver picked Sadie from the floor and carried her to the door with him.

"Be nice," he whispered in her ear and unlocked the door. On his doorstep stood Felicity in a beautiful red dress. She was carrying quite a big bag, something huge that Oliver assumed was a gift for Sadie and a smaller bag with what looked like a present too.

"Happy birthday dear Sadie… Happy birthday to you!" Felicity sang the end of a birthday song smiling at Sadie who was looking at her with a blank expression. "And hello Oliver," she added and saw Oliver's smile.

"Hey Felicity, come in. Do you need help with these?" Oliver pointed at the bags she was holding, but Felicity shook her head placing them in the corridor. "Looks like you've brought the entire shop with you," he teased.

"Oh, I'm very far from that. I mean I wish I could buy all the nice things I saw there, but unfortunately I couldn't so I picked these…" laughed Felicity looking at Sadie. Oliver's daughter was strangely quiet, but Felicity thought she was probably only being shy and would warm up a little later. Oliver put Sadie on the floor so he could kiss his girlfriend's cheek. Seeing that Sadie immediately frowned and stepped in front of Oliver putting her arms up.

"Dad! Daddy!" she called Oliver, arms still high in the air. Usually this was enough for Oliver to take her in his arms and carry her around. But this time Oliver lifted Sadie only a little so she was standing in front of Felicity and he kneeled next to her. Holding her small hand Oliver said,

"Say hello to Felicity."

"No!" shouted Sadie and threw her hands in the air again calling her dad to pick her up. When Sadie learned how to walk she hated being carried, but as Tommy said Sadie was a very lazy child and when she learned walking could be a bit tiring she preferred to be carried. Oliver was ashamed of what he thought, but right now he would gladly lock his daughter in her room so she wouldn't be embarassing him in front of Felicity. He had to figure out what's going on with his daughter as soon as possible. Oliver gently turned Sadie so she was looking at Felicity again. That's when the little girl noticed the big gift is wrapped in a beautiful paper with blue fish on it. Curiosity took over her and Sadie walked up to the gift touching it eagerly.

"I guess pretty little princess found her birthday presents," Felicity felt the tension leaves the room for a little while as she and Oliver walked up to Sadie. Kneeling next to Oliver's daughter Felicity handled her the smaller bag. "The big one is for later, okay? Now you can open this one. If dad's okay with it I mean." Felicity looked at Oliver who smiled and nodded. He hoped Felicity can't see that he's extremly nervous. He was afraid Sadie will be rude again. He knew that for some reason she seemed not to like his girlfriend anymore.

"You can open the smaller one now Sadie. But first you have to say something. What is it?" Sadie knew very well what her dad wanted her to say, but she had her own idea.

"I want the big one," said Sadie and Oliver's eyes widened in shock. Of course she wanted the bigger one. He wouldn't have been surprised, but Sadie had been very rude lately and he was worried it was happening again.

"Sadie!" said Oliver loudly. He looked at Felicity and he could have sworn he saw hurt on her face. He knew she felt something's not right. "Thank Felicity for the gift." Sadie grabbed the gift and almost pulled it out of Felicity's grip muttering something quietly. Felicity looked at Oliver who looked… mad. She had a few small fights with him, that's normal in a relationship, but she's never seen him angry before. Now he was clearly angry and embarassed. She didn't know what to do. Should she let it go and just let Sadie have the bag or should she keep it until she does what Oliver says? She wanted to make Sadie smile, not to make Oliver angry. He looked at Sadie and she looked back at him, but she couldn't hold his pleading gaze. She looked at Felicity and stopped pulling the bag.

"Thank you City," she said with her tiny voice and reached her hands towards the present. She didn't touch it this time, she waited for Felicity to give it to her. She was a kid, children are greedy and moody, but Oliver was surprised she said "thank you". She really must have wanted the present.

"You're welcome," Felicity felt more at ease when she heard Oliver let out a breath in relief. "Do you want to go to your room with me? We can open it there. And daddy will prepare your birthday party?" Felicity hoped Sadie will go politely because Oliver seemed very nervous and he kept looking at his watch. He was running out time. The guests would be arriving in a few hours.

"No! Daddy open my present with me!" Sadie ostentatiously ignored Felicity who wanted to carry her to her room.

"Sorry Felicity, I don't know what's wrong with her." Oliver picked Sadie up and carried her to her room telling Felicity to follow him. He placed Sadie on her favorite place on the floor on a fluffy carpet and quickly left leaving Sadie with Felicity. When he was passing next to his girlfriend he gently squeezed her arm and in this small gesture he told Felicity everything he wanted to say. She smiled at him and walked up to Sadie.

The girl looked very sad and she called her dad a few times, but then gave up on it looking at the present she was holding in her hands. The tears that were to be seen in her eyes were no longer there as she pulled the green hoodie out of the bag. She held it in her hands for a minute, placed in on the ground and disppeared under her bed. Felicity layed on the floor looking under the bed where Sadie went, but immediately crawled back because Sadie pushed a cuddly dinosaur from under the bed and then dressed the toy in the new hoodie. Felicity was watching her silently.

"Do you like it?" she asked finally when she saw Sadie was tracing the white flowery pattern. She didn't get a response, only a look in which Felicity could see that Sadie liked her present. "Why are you shy pretty one?" Felicity was seriously concerned. Even the first time when Sadie met her she started talking to her after a few minutes. Today something was wrong. Felicity tried to tickle Sadie's stomach playfully. "Do you want me to braid your hair?"

"No," Sadie pushed Felicity's hand away and started playing with the dinosaur. Then she noticed something more in the bag and curiously reached for it. What she found there made her smile the widest smile Felicity had ever seen.

"City! My baffing suit!" Sadie must have forgotten she wanted to dislike Felicity because she threw her small arms around Felicity's neck and hugged her still holding the bathing suit in her hand. Felicity was surprised when she felt the girl's small body hugging her. She immediately wrapped her hands around her laying her head on top of her small one. She was too shy to admit it, but she thought of her relationship with Oliver a lot and she also thought a lot about Sadie. Raising a child was not easy, Felicity knew it, but still she couldn't stop thinking what would it be like to watch "Malascar" with her or buy those pretty tiny clothes with her…

"You like it honey, huh?" Felicity placed Sadie on her lap and gently rubbed her cheek smiling at the little girl.

"Sara has a pool. Mom said I need a baffing suit. Uh… not mom. Mom… no, Aunt Lyla said." Sadie looked at Felicity curiously. "Do you have a mom?"

Felicity bit her lip not knowing what to say. She certainly didn't feel comfortable talking about this with a 3 year old who didn't know her mother. Oliver told her that after spending a lot of time with Lyla and Sara, Sadie started calling Lyla "mom" just like Sara did.

"I do," Felicity said quietly.

"Why?"

"I… What do you mean why?"

"Sara has a mom. And Auntie. And you. Only I don't," said Sadie, her small hands playing with Felicity's earrings. Felicity felt the sudden need to tell Sadie that she cares for her like a mother would. She felt like she could love this precious angel and sacrifice anything for her. The bathing suit fell from Sadie's hand as she tried to snuggle into Felicity's arms. She immediately reached for it and started dressing up clumsily, still sitting on Felicity's lap. "Do you have a baffing suit?" Felicity almost laughed at the relieving change of the topic. She heard from Oliver that Sadie's thoughts were very fast.

"Yes I do. Come on Sadie, let me help you," Sadie let Felicity help her. The sudden change in her behaviour made Felicity feel more at ease. "Sara has one and Thea and I didn't. But now I do!" Sadie stood up and started spinning around admiring her new best piece of clothing. If Felicity knew a stupid bathing suit would make Sadie so happy she would have given her one every day just because she liked to see her smile.

"Hey girls," Felicity and Sadie turned their heads towards Oliver who had just entered the room.

"Hey Oliver," Felicity smiled looking at him. "Is everything ready?"

"Yeah… pretty much. Diggle will be here a little before the party to bring the cake. Sadie what are you wearing? Is that a bathing suit?" Oliver walked up to Sadie and took her in his arms smiling at her. "Do you know how pretty you look?"

"City gave me!"

"Now you can swim in the pool!" Oliver had no idea how Felicity knew a bathing suit was Sadie's dream lately, but he was glad she knew.

"I can! But I can't. I'm hungry!" Sadie tapped her belly with her hand making a funny face.

"That's why I made you some food. And hot chocolate. How does that sound?" Sadie laughed happily and her dad carried her to the kitchen and placed her on her chair.


	7. Hot chocolate

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if you noticed, I'm posting all chapters at once so far and that's why I don't thank you for comments or kudos, I simply don't have any yet, but I hope I'll have a few and I want you to know it makes me happy that you read and like my story. I mean I hope you do, it's been posted on ff and tumblr and... yeah.   
> apollosgirlfriend(.co.vu) edited this chapter :)))

So far, things were going better than expected. The bathing suit made Sadie forget about being rude to Felicity, at least for now. Oliver's little girl began eating, apparently too hungry to care about her dad and Felicity. They stood just behind her near the kitchen counter talking quietly.

"Thank you," Oliver said as he wrapped his arms around her waist. He wished he could push her against the counter, tangle his fingers in her hair, and feel her legs squeeze around his waist… but with Sadie in the room, it was out of question. Oliver put his head on her shoulder and sighed.

"You okay?" Felicity asked.

"Just tired," Oliver murmured as he snuggled into the crook of her neck. Felicity's eyes fell on Sadie, but she was busy eating her fruit salad. Felicity took the opportunity and pulled Oliver's head up to kiss him.

"You need to rest some, sleeping beauty." Oliver smiled at what Felicity said and quickly kissed her back.

"You know, we could sneak out from the party for a little while to… sleep," whispered Oliver huskily. "But I'm afraid we'll be only more tired than we already are."

Felicity laughed, and a blush covered her face and neck. "Or you can actually get some sleep tonight and visit me tomorrow."

"Or both?"

"Oh yeah, we can do both." Felicity sighed as Oliver's hand lovingly grazed her cheek. The need to touch every place covered in a blush was almost unbearable. "Oh, I almost forgot, I found a really nice hotel not far from your secret house on the beach. You said you and Sadie love this place, and actually, I really like this place too, so we could go there on our vacation. Unless you've already booked the hotel you told me about? That would be very nice too, I'm sure you can build sand castles pretty much everywhere where the sand is-"

"Felicity," Oliver interjected. "I'd gladly go somewhere near our secret house. But promise me that one day we'll go camping there. I want to sleep in a tent on an uncomfortable air mattress with Sadie complaining it's too dark for her to sleep. Deal?"

"I promise." Felicity couldn't believe it. He almost admitted he wanted to be family with her. Our Sadie made her want Oliver even more. She wanted to snuggle in bed with him, while Sadie watched some funny movies that she loved so much. She was sure she would love it more than anything else in the world.

"Daddy? Dad? Come here!" Sadie was looking at them angrily, clearly not pleased at seeing her dad and Felicity so close to each other. Hearing her name apparently made her notice the couple standing behind her.

"What's up princess?"

"I want hot chocholat." Sadie pushed away her fruit and looked at her dad expectantly.

"It's hot chocolate. Okay, call it however you want, but fruit first. You have to eat them all, you know that. That's our deal." Oliver was afraid that Sadie was starting her sick game again. She shook her head no, but apparently she knew her dad too well. He wasn't going to let her have her drink. She had to try another tactic.

"City, I want hot chocholat."

"Oh Sadie, there's only two pieces of an apple left. If you eat it, Daddy will give you hot chocholat, okay?" Felicity stood next to Sadie and placed the plate in front of her. In meantime, Oliver checked to see if the chocolate was too warm for Sadie. Assured that it was okay, he placed it on the table, waiting for Sadie to eat all of her food.

"No!" Sadie closed her mouth and shook her head.

"Aren't you hungry anymore, honey?" asked Felicity. Sadie shook her head again.

"Hey, we're going to built sand castles next week, and you have to be strong enough to do it," Oliver teased in an attempt to convince his little girl.

"Sand castles?" That caught Sadie's attention. She loved sand castles. She was a princess after all, right?

"Yeah, sand castles. Do you remember the one we made last time? With shells and seaweed?"

"Yes! It was pretty!" Sadie looked at her dad, smiling. Of course she remembered that castle! She loved the small beach. No one was there besides her and her dad, so she wasn't ashamed to talk, jump, sing and do other things she loved. With anyone new around her, she shied away, sitting quietly. Now encouraged, she quickly ate the rest of her apple and looked at her dad, clearly proud of herself.

"Soon we're going there with City. We can all be strong and build sand castles together! And now you can get your chocolate, my princess." Suddenly Oliver noticed a frown on Sadie's face.

"With City?" she asked a little confused. She remembered building castles with her dad only. Even Tommy and Auntie were not allowed to build them. Only her dad could.  
"Yes, with Felicity. She like sand castles, too. We'll build two this time. One for you and one for her." Oliver did not realize he made things even worse for the small girl.

"No! No City!" Sadie looked… terrified. Her eyes were wide, and she was shaking her head like she tried to shake something out of her mind. She was a very observant child. She had her reasons to be scared. She just couldn't put it in words. All she could do was to start yelling. "No, Dad no! No City!"

Oliver tried to calm her down. With a confused Felicity standing next to him, along with shouting Sadie, he couldn't focus. He didn't know what to do first: tell Sadie to stop or tell Felicity to ignore it. His whole face burnt with embarrassment as he finally made Sadie stop screaming.

"Sorry Felicity, I have no idea what possessed her! I'm sorry!" he pleaded as he held his daughter in his arms. There was not much he could do for Felicity at the moment. She looked beyond sad, her eyes glistening with tears she tried to hold back. She wanted to do everything for Sadie. She spent hours in toy shops to find something she would like the most. She let this girl into her heart, which apparently was a mistake because Sadie couldn't do the same. Felicity didn't know what hurt her the most: the fact that Sadie didn't want to spend time with her or the memory of Sadie's small arms wrapped around her neck hugging her closely.

"It's okay," Felicity finally managed to say. "It's fine. It's your place. I shouldn't even come up with this idea."

All Felicity wanted to do was to take Sadie to a nice place she loved. What she unintentionally did was rip the feeling of safety from her. She was an intruder that Sadie was scared of. Oliver seemed to not understand that, but she did. She stood between Sadie and her beloved dad. Oliver's daughter wasn't used to sharing her dad with someone. She always got the most of his attention. And now, her dad wanted to build sand castles with someone who wasn't his daughter.

"Hey, Sadie?" Felicity called hesitantly. "Don't be sad, princess."

Sadie looked at her a little scared, one of her hands holding Oliver's shirt. In the other hand was the pink plastic cup with hot chocolate that Sadie was hugging to her small body.

"Can you go now?" Sadie laid her head on her dad's shoulder and looked at Felicity more angrily than a minute ago.

"What?" asked Oliver in shock. "Sadie!" He tried to put the girl on the floor, but she held him like her life depended on it. "Felicity is not going anywhere. Why are you so rude?" Sadie must have had a strong grip because Oliver still didn't manage to put her on the floor. He looked at Felicity, who clearly didn't know what to do. She was standing right next to them, miserably trying to control herself.

"I'm not. She is," Sadie answered, her voice polite when she talked to her dad. A second later she yelled at Felicity again. "Go away!" And then she burst into tears. What happened next was like a blur. Oliver was trying to escape from his daughter's grip, but she was holding him even tighter. Felicity tried to convince Oliver that shouting at her was not a good solution, and that she should go for both Sadie and Oliver's sake. She wasn't very convincing because right now she wanted to yell on that diabolic child, too. She really wanted to leave right now, not caring for Oliver's pleading gaze. Suddenly, Sadie slung her cup of chocolate in order to force Felicity to step back. She succeeded. The liquid now stained Felicity's beautiful, soft red dress, covering Felicity's face and top of her dress in hot chocolate. She froze as the noise suddenly vanished.

"Okay," Felicity interrupted the incredibly uncomfortable silence, "I'd better go." She left the kitchen, followed by Oliver, who finally put Sadie down and followed Felicity.

"Felicity, I'm so sorry!" He grabbed her hand softly and took a deep breath. "Please, don't go." The moment she looked at him, he felt even guiltier. The look in her eyes was going to haunt him every night after this day.

"I know," she whispered. "I'm sorry, too. Look, I wish I could stay, but it's not a good idea. I mean it is in general, but not now as you can see I'm wet. And I really want you to take me to shower. I mean… show me where the shower is so I could shower myself. Alone. And then go home."

"Uh, sure, okay," Oliver sighed. "Towels are under the sink. Call me if you need anything." Felicity smiled to him sadly and nodded.

"Don't make that face; it's not your fault. She just doesn't like me as much as you thought… or at all."

"I'm sorry," he whispered again.

"Don't worry; it wasn't really hot chocolate, you know. It was barely warm." Oliver walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her petite waist. He snuggled his face in the crook of her neck and kissed her chocolate covered skin, trying to tell her how sorry he was without using words. Hug me back, hug me back, he thought as if that was the way of confirming he could still hope for the future together. After a second that felt like an eternity, he felt her hands rubbing calming circles on his back. He sighed in relief and kissed her neck again before letting Felicity go to the bathroom. He went back to the kitchen. On the floor in a white puddle stood Sadie's pink cup, she was standing above it with a big bottle of milk in her hands.  
"Daddy, I want more hot chocholat." Oliver had every right to be mad right now and when he saw Sadie wanting something from him again the wave of anger came back.  
"Felicity would make you one, but you were rude that she left," snapped Oliver. He took the milk bottle away from Sadie and put it back in the fridge. "Go to your room and wait for me." Sadie didn't move which definitely didn't help Oliver control himself. "Now!"

"Fine!" she whispered and left. Oliver was sure she was crying again and wished his anger could dull the ache in his chest.

Oliver sat on a chair, his head in his hands. If his daughter wanted a piece of heaven he would gladly give it to her. This time, however, he was not going to make her a new drink. He tried to find a way to punish her, but shouting at her seemed too much. He went to her room and ignored all her questions as he changed her into her dress and left. Felicity came out of the shower, free of hot chocolate for the most part, and was heading to the door.

"My sister could bring you a dress you know?" said Oliver taking her hand in his.

"This is not about the dress, Oliver." Felicity squeezed his hand and looked in his eyes. "She was jealous. I know it happens, I read a lot about it. I tried my best to show her I'm not taking you away from her. I wanted her to know that, to know that I'm here for her. And for you. For both of you. But I think it's going to be better if I leave right now."

"I… I'm sorry," he said. The guilt in his voice made her realize that he was going to blame himself for all of this. Felicity took a step towards him and kissed him deeply. He quickly responded, pulling her to him. Their kiss was not sweet or tender. It was full of emotion, passion, and love.  
"I'm sorry," Felicity murmured. "I hope she'll have a nice party. And don't be mad at her. I know you are, but don't be. It's all because she loves you so much." And so do I, Felicity thought.  
"Thank you for coming here," Oliver said, thinking that he should apologize once again, but it wouldn't change anything. "And thank you for the bathing suit."

"Yeah. At least she liked something about me today! Call me later?"

"I will, I promise." Hearing that made Felicity felt a little more content, and before she left, she kissed Oliver again.

"Well, finalalally!" a tiny voice wavered from behind him. Sadie was standing in the corridor right next to the gift she got from Felicity.

"What finally?"

"City is not here. Can I open it daddy? Toys in it I'm ce… ceretet…" His daughter was smiling nicely at her dad while pointing at her birthday gift.

"It's certain, Sadie. How do you even know that word? And no. No Felicity, no present," Oliver said and took the box to lock it in his bedroom. Sadie got what she wanted. Felicity left. Her big beautiful eyes wouldn't change his mind about hiding the present. He always played by her rules, and that's how he spoiled her. The saddest thing about it was that Felicity had to pay for it.

"Daddy?" Sadie stood watching her dad. When he kept ignoring her she walked to the door and tried to open it. When she started kicking it, Oliver caught her and carried to the room, still ignoring her cries for the gift. Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

"Stay here. It's Uncle John."

"And Sara?" asked Sadie, but she didn't get a reply. Something was wrong with her daddy. She didn't waste much time to think about it though. What she really had to do was to get to the present.

"Hey man, where's the birthday girl?" asked Dig when Oliver opened the door.

"Hello, She's probably not sitting on the sofa where I left her," Oliver guessed, trying to sound like everything was okay. His best friend probably hadn't noticed his lack of good mood yet.

"Great! Here's the cake. I hope it's not smashed. A girl was running down the stairs and didn't notice me. She talked a lot about buying a new cake, but I'm pretty sure nothing happened to this one. And where is Felicity?"

John walked into the apartment looking around. He couldn't wait to meet his friend's girlfriend.

"A girl?" Oliver asked nervously as he took the cake from John.

"Yeah, young, blonde, petite, pretty and apparently very talkative. Your neighbor?" In that moment, Dig noticed something was not right. "Oliver?"  
"That was Felicity," he said bitterly before walking past John to his bedroom door where Sadie was making knocking noises. She had dragged her singing dinosaur there and was hitting the door with it.

"Sadie? Sadie, stop it!" She stopped immediately and placed her toy on the floor. She smiled politely at her dad and uncle. "You are breaking your toy!" Hearing that, Sadie frowned while looking at her stuffed animal.

"Dino wanted to open the door," she said, hugging dinosaur tightly. She didn't want to break it; she thought that the "strong animal" would help her open the door. Kid logic.

"Happy birthday, Sadie!" said John and smiled at the girl who now had a wide smile.

"Say hi to Uncle," Oliver reminded her.

"Hi Uncle!" Sadie placed Dino on the floor again and ran to Dig to hug him. "Where is Sara?" she asked looking around. Dig still was a little shocked not sure of what Oliver just said. He wanted to meet Felicity, but not on a staircase and definitely in different circumstance. She looked like she wanted to get away as soon as possible. The question was why. Did Oliver mess up? That was likely, it was Oliver after all, but Diggle wasn't so sure.

"She'll be here soon with Aunt Lyla," John managed to say before looking at Oliver.

"Fine," Sadie replied, using her favorite word. Oliver picked her up and carried her to the sofa.

"This time stay here. Wait for Sara," he said and looked at Dig silently telling him to follow him to the kitchen.

"What happened? She looked like she would after a break up. You didn't break up, did you?"

"We… I… We didn't. Sadie was so rude!" said Oliver, his anger back again. "She told Felicity to leave and… and she was yelling, and she threw her drink on Felicity's dress." Oliver didn't know what to do. Felicity probably needed space right now. She wanted to be anywhere but near the Queens.

"Oh man. Sadie was jealous, it happens. You have to take it easy, explain-"

"What do I have to explain to her? She's a three. She doesn't understand anything!" Oliver was about to hit his breaking point. Anger was boiling in his veins, but he tried his best not to shout.

"She understands more than you think. And from what I can see, you like this girl more than you think." Dig was looking at Oliver with a strange expression. "What do you want to do now?" he asked, but the doorbell rang again. "Saved by the bell. You're going to answer that question later." Dig and Oliver headed towards the door and a second later Sadie ran to the door, too.

"Is it Sara? Is it Sara?" Sadie started jumping around the two men repeating Sara's name over and over. "Sara!" shouted Sadie when she saw John's daughter. Girls ran towards each other and hugged tightly. Sara was holding a bouquet of flowers that now was crashed between two small kids. Lyla walked to the girls and tried to save the poor bouquet. Oliver hadn't closed the door yet when he heard steps on the stair case. Someone was running upstairs and a few seconds later Tommy, Thea, and her boyfriend Roy appeared.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Sadie! Happy birthday to you!" Tommy and Thea sang a birthday song and hugged Sadie. Roy stayed a little behind them holding all the presents. To Oliver's surprise, there was also a small gift from his mother.

Thea finally let Sadie go and went to kitchen to find Oliver. "So where is she?" Thea asked as Tommy walked into the kitchen.

"Where are you hiding your girl, huh?" Tommy had a charming smile on his face like he thought Felicity would jump out of the fridge.

"You're not going to meet her today or maybe ever! Thanks to the birthday girl!" Oliver growled before quickly leaving the kitchen. Tommy and Thea exchanged glances, both startled by his reaction.

"Leave him alone," Dig said. "He has to figure things out. Let's go! Sadie is waiting for her cake and candles." Dig lit up three candles and carried the cake to the living room. The mood abruptly changed, but Tommy and Thea followed him, smiling and stealing glances at Oliver.

Oliver stood next to Sadie holding her small hand and rubbing her back gently as he told her to make a wish. He thought of his own wish and helped his daughter with the candles. He wished Sadie liked Felicity. He didn't know what he would do if she didn't. Sadie was his daughter and he loved her most in the world, but he loved Felicity, too and the thought of her not being by his side scared and hurt him. The sight of Sadie playing with a big red car she got from Tommy made him smile. She was such a happy child, but his heart hurt when she kept calling Lyla "Mom" by mistake. For a brief moment, Oliver thought of Felicity as Sadie's mom, but Sadie didn't give her a chance. Felicity said it was okay, but he knew it wasn't. He saw the look in her eyes when she was walking away with a fake smile.

The whole party was great. Everyone were laughing and playing together, but that was not what Oliver was thinking of as Sadie fell asleep by his side. She came to his bedroom a few minutes ago and climbed on the bed, announcing that birthday girl can't sleep alone.

"Did you like the party, Princess?" Oliver whispered as he kissed his daughter's hair.

"Yes," she replied quietly, hugging her dad. "But Loy is silly."

"What? You can't say that," said Oliver. His daughter apparently took manners after him.

"I asked him do you have a Mom, and he said everyone has. You said I don't have one. He's silly!" Oliver sighed, kissing Sadie again.

"You can't walk around asking people if they have Moms, Sadie."

"But I want to know," she cried and Oliver's heart hurt one more time. Dig said Sadie understood more than he thought she did, but will she understand this?

"Shhh… don't think about it, just sleep."

"I don't want to sleep anymore!" Sadie sat on the bed, looking at her dad.

"Do you want to talk with me, Sadie? Can I ask you something important?"

"What means impotrant?"

"Important. And it means… it means I really want to ask you about something." Oliver was afraid his question would make her cry again, but he had to try.

"Yes, Daddy," said the girl. Sadie curled up next to her dad, her small head on his shoulder.

"It's about Felicity," he said and felt Sadie tense by his side. In response, he held her closer, trying to comfort her. According to what Felicity said, Sadie was afraid of losing her father. He couldn't let her think that.

"It's okay, baby girl, Daddy's here. Why don't you like her? You can tell me," Sadie looked thoughtful and Oliver didn't want to hurry her.

"She's rude," said Sadie hesitantly.

"How? You can tell me, Princess," he assured her once more.

"She… mmm… she…" Sadie didn't know what to say. "She wants to steal your shirt. That um… is not good." She was talking in sentence fragments, clearly nervous.

"No, she took it accidently. She didn't want to steal it. Will you like her now?" Sadie shook her head, she wasn't easy to convince. "Why not? What did she do?"

"Do you like her daddy?"

"Yes, I do. I like her very much. That's why we're going on vacation with her. We'll build you the biggest sand castle you've ever had," Oliver promised, rubbing calming circles on Sadie's back. In the dim light he saw her frown, eyes glistening with tears. She sat up and lowered her head avoiding Oliver's gaze. "Hey? Sadie what's up? Why are you crying?" Sadie crawled from the bed, her small feet hitting the cold floor as a sob shook her tiny frame.

"Because you don't like me anymore," she said sadly between sobs and ran from the bedroom. That's not what Oliver expected. He had to make things right as soon as possible. There was not much he could do right now, but he went to Sadie's room and found her crying on her favorite carpet, hugging Elly.

"I love you, Sadie," he said loudly as he sat beside her. "I love you the most in the whole world." Now, there were tears in his eyes. Sadie looked at him shyly. He picked her up from the ground and placed on her bed. Wrapping covers around them, Oliver assured Sadie once more. "I like you, do you understand? And Felicity won't change that. She couldn't do it! She likes you, too, just like I do. And now sleep, my Princess. I love you," he said and closed his eyes, now calmer as Sadie relaxed and hugged him.

"I love you too, Daddy," she whispered and drifted to sleep.


	8. I love you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The sweet three words... :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :) Awesome tumblr user olicityandsteroline edited this chapter! THANK YOU! Have I already tell you she's AWESOME?
> 
> I have to warn all of you though that 1 short part was not edited and you may find mistakes there, all kinds of mistakes, but please forgive me. Also for mistakes in notes, noone checks them for me. Anyway I hope you will like this chapter :)
> 
> Oh and of course I don't own Arrow, this fanfic is based on a tv show based on DC comics characters.

Oliver and Felicity were laying on her bed, her head resting on his bare chest, their legs tangled between the sheets. Their breathing was slowly calming down as he was softly rubbing her back. Oliver called her as he promised a week ago immediately after Sadie's birthday party. His daughter was keeping him busy all week, he wanted to spend every single moment with her mentioning Felicity from time to time which caused Sadie's anger attacks. That's what Oliver wanted to talk about with Felicity, but they ended up doing… something else.

"Can we talk now?" asked Oliver smiling at her. Felicity nodded sleepily, trying to focus on what Oliver wanted to say. His hand on the small of her back was very distracting though.

"About Sadie?" asked Felicity sitting up on her bed clumsily to look at him. Oliver sat up too and pulled her into a hug.

"Yeah, about Sadie," he said.

"Does she really hate me?" Felicity sounded sad, but Oliver knew she tried to hide it. She hoped something had changed during that week, but she knew she couldn't count on that.

"Honestly?" Felicity nodded "Then I think she really hates you. I'm sorry! I'm trying, I keep telling her that you're… remarkable, that you can braid her hair, that you love Madagascar, that you bought her the bathing suit," Felicity was looking at Oliver smiling sadly as he continued, "and I really wanted her to like you, but she gets angry everytime I even say your name."

"I know Oliver, I know you're trying," Felicity took his hand in her small one squeezing it gently. "What do you want to do now?" she asked afraid of what he would say.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean… uh…" Felicity nervously tucked her hair behind her ear "I mean she's your daughter. And she really dislikes me…" Seeing her distress Oliver's hands wandered to her face cupping it, his rough hands surprisingly soft. "I'm not giving up on us if that's what you mean. I'm worried about you, I saw it hurt you when she was acting like that." Felicity looked down and sighed.

"It does, but she's still small. She's had you all to herself and it's difficult for her to understand there will be someone more… I think she's young enough to adjust to it one day. And I think it's going to be quite soon. She has to get used to it and I want to try." She looked determined, looking in his eyes again. "If you want to I mean," she added quickly and all he could see in her eyes was hope. ?"I want to try," he responded quickly and felt the relief washing over him. He was so scared she wanted to give up. Felicity smiled at him and layed her head on his shoulder. "Do you still want to go on that vacation with me and Sadie?"

"Yes, yes, yes! I really want to go!" The bright smile appeared on her face as she jumped on the bed slightly. "Where to?"

"You said something about a nice hotel near the secret house…" said Oliver leaning over her and kissing her neck. "We could go to the beach every day."

"But do you think it's okay? It's her favorite place. I don't want her to dislike it because of me," worried Felicity.

"Yes, it's okay. She has to finally understand that…" I love you thought Oliver. "…That you'll be around". He said after a second of hesitation.

"I hope she'll understand soon…"

"Yeah we don't want you to run out of all your dresses, right?" teased Oliver.

Felicity only shook her head and cried in protest when Oliver moved from under her and with a wicked smile went to grab something from his jacket pocket.

"Hey, what are you doing, Oliver?" she asked and shifted on the bed to look at Oliver who was on his way back to her already holding a small gold envelope.

"I almost forgot," said Oliver sitting next to his girlfriend again. "Here," he said, giving her the small gift. "You've got a gift card to one of my sister's favorite shops. They have a lot of red dresses, but please don't wear it near Sadie."

Felicity opened the gift and looked at him with wide eyes.

"Oliver! Oh my… Thank you, but I can't take this. You were so busy apologizing that you probably haven't heard me, but I told you I don't care about this dress."

"Of course you can take it. Actually it was my sister's idea. She really wanted to meet you that day and when she heard what happened she told me you have to buy a dress in this shop because it's the best in town." Thea told him to put all the blame on her, which he did as soon as Felicity tried to give him the card back. "Besides you'll need it for our next date," added Oliver.

"Oh… Thank you Oliver. And thank your sister too." Felicity took his hand in hers again today and looked at him, embarassed. "I really wanted to meet her too. And I guess I met your friend John." Felicity looked at Oliver who tried to look like he had no idea what she was talking about. He failed apparently because she looked at him suspiciously. "But he told you about that, right?"

"Yeah," sighed Oliver. "I'm sorry, I didn't want…"

"I know," interrupted Felicity, then she giggled a little ashamed. "I was such a mess! I started rambling and he just stood there trying to say something, I think he actually did say something, but I didn't listen and I kept talking, and he said something about a cake I guess I smashed it… Oh no, was the cake ruined? I hope it wasn't! I wanted to buy a new one, but I kept rambling instead of actually going to get a cake so I think he just said that it's fine so I could just shut up and go away…" Oliver looked at her in amusement. He knew her babbling ashamed her sometimes, but he loved it when she was talking like this, thoughts quickly escaping her mind, beautiful blush covering her cheeks and neck. "Did he tell you that too? I'm sorry, I'm still talking and I should let you answer my question." She stopped, taking a deep breath and looked at Oliver who had a sincere smile on his face.

"He told me a pretty young girl almost smashed the birthday cake," Oliver laughed. "But the cake was fine, don't worry. And when I told Dig that… that was you he was happy he was the first one who met you. Thea and Tommy had a bet going on who would meet you first."

"What? What bet?" Felicity was shocked but laughing with Oliver now.

"Tommy said he would meet you first and Thea said he had no chance," saying that Oliver hugged Felicity to his body and lowered on bed kissing her blush covered skin.

"Felicity?" she froze at Oliver's voice, it was way too serious for her taste. He let her out of embrance and looked at her, all laughter was gone now.

"What is it?" asked Felicity, smile fading.

"Maybe before we go there... we should... we should talk."

"Weren't we talking a minute ago?" his nervousness triggered Felicity's imagination. Oliver took a deep breath.

"I wanted to tell you weeks ago, but I was scared. And now we've got these problems with Sadie and I know it's not easy for you..." he couldn't wait a minute longer.

"Oliver, just say it already" said Felicity sternly. It wasn't something bad, was it? A minute ago they agreed to give their relationship a go.

"Say what?" he wondered if she knew. If so why was she so nervous?

"Uh I don't know what you want to say! It was all good and we were... you know what we were doing, what you were doing actually, not that I complain, it was awesome... and now you're having a serious face and it freaks me out..."

"I love you" Oliver blurted out and took a sharp breath. His heart hammered in his chest. He watched as Felicity stared at him, her mouth slightly open, breaths heavy.

"What?" Oliver counted on a different reaction. Maybe a kiss or an I love you, but definitely not a startled expression and a "what?".

"I said... I said that I love you" Oliver repeated praying she will do something, anything but sitting still. He was going to get out of the bed in attempt to go back home, but he felt a small hand on his cheek.

"I love you too" Felicity was smiling at him now, half-sitting awkwardly trying to get comfortable. "I love you too Oliver" she repeated. That's all he needed to hear. Apparently both of them thought of the same thing because they met halfway into a kiss giggling loudly.

xxx

One day later Oliver was sitting at home watching Sadie who was painting on her wall again. She found out Roy's favorite color and now she painted him on the wall too. He was standing near Tommy and Thea. Oliver could tell that only because she remembered colors and places where Sadie painted everyone. Although the shapes didn't even look really human, Oliver could distinguish the head and limbs. Every girl had hair, he had no idea why all the men (that is himself, Tommy, Roy and Dig) were bald. Sadie and Sara were smaller than the rest, but Oliver had a feeling his daughter would need a bigger room soon. Or a ladder to paint on the ceiling. In meantime he was texting Felicity who has just got home from work. He left earlier to be with Sadie, as a CEO he could do that, but he had to finish some reports later today. He hoped Sadie would go to sleep peacefully.

"Hotel booked :D. Room for 3 the one we wanted with a big balcony," he got a text from Felicity and quickly replied.

"Thank you! I hope Walter agreed easily?"

"Yup he said it was a well deserved vacation and wished us lots of fun! :D"

Oliver could tell she was just as excited for the trip as he was.

"Daddy is it Auntie?" asked Sadie pointing at Oliver's mobile.

"No, it's not Auntie, she can't come to play tomorrow. She's very busy," Oliver didn't want to mention Felicity. He was exhausted, he didn't need another fight with his daughter and he knew she would use all the paint that was left to throw at him or at the "Frozen" pillows he already had to hide from Sadie. She wasn't aggressive, but it looked like she wanted to tell her dad that she didn't like his new girl and she seemed to dislike everything she got from Felicity besides her bathing suit. That piece of clothing was a sacred thing. She was taking it to Sara everyday in her backpack, carefully folded.

"Is it Loy?"

"No, he was here today, he can't play tomorrow, he's busy too." Today Thea and Roy took care of Sadie because Lyla was visiting her mother with little Sara.

"Dad?"

"What's up baby girl?"

"I don't want to paint anymore," Sadie stood in front of him, hair covered in red paint as well as her purple leggings and Oliver's favorite orange Madagascar T-shirt. Well, maybe not favorite, but it didn't need ironing so Sadie was wearing it all the time. He heard her cry all day when he burnt one of her princess dresses during ironing. How could he know the temperature was too high for the soft, thin material?

"Oh I guess you need a bubble bath today. Do you want one?"

"Yes!" shouted Sadie hugging her dad tightly. He only hissed, and didn't say anything when her red hands rested on his white shirt.

"But at first we'll shower all the paint away from you. It may take a while," said Oliver more to himself that to Sadie. He picked her up and carried her to the bathroom.

"Stay here and don't move, daddy's going to bring you your PJs," Oliver put his phone on the edge of the bathtube and left reminding Sadie again she shouldn't move. She was standing in the middle of the bathroom waiting for her dad politely, singing something quietly. Then she heard the humming. It was her father's mobile phone. She instinctively stepped closer to the phone to grab it and carry it to her dad. She had it in her small hands and opened her mouth to call him, but she saw Felicity's picture on the screen. The blonde woman was smiling at her from the screen and Sadie closed her mouth immediately. She didn't want her dad to pick it up. She looked around and hid the phone under the towel.

"Sadie, wait a little longer, daddy can't find it!" she heard Oliver calling from her room. She stood as she was told to, but quickly got bored and wanted to clean her paint- covered hands. She grabbed the towel and Oliver's phone fell on the ground and hummed again. Felicity appeared on the screen and this time Sadie got mad. Her idea with hiding the mobile under the towel wasn't very good. That's why she opened the toilet and dropped the phone there. She quickly closed it and came back to the place where Oliver left her in. That's when he came back to the bathroom holding her pajamas.

"Have you seen my phone? I think I left it here…" Oliver looked around but Sadie only shook her head, her strange expression would normally make Oliver suspicious, but he wasn't really looking at her, still looking for the phone. ?After Sadie's bubble bath Oliver started looking for his mobile, but you know where he found it.

Then next days passed very quickly. Oliver dealt with a few fights with Sadie who started telling some ridiculous lies about Oliver's mobile, but then quickly confessed and cried herself to sleep. Her dad bought a new mobile phone, two of them actually, just in case, signed a good deal with a new investor in QC and texed his mother a quick "Thank you for Sadie's birthday present". Felicity on the other hand couldn't wait for the vacation. She was scared and excited. Oliver was supposed to tell Sadie about it today. She was waiting impatiently for his call trying to find comfort in his words when he said they would go there even if he had to put Sadie into the car using strength.

Oliver stood leaning on a doorframe watching as Sadie tried to place all her cuddly toys on her bed to cover them with a blanket and "read" them one of her favorite books. She did it a lot lately, looking at colorful pictures in books. She was telling weird, sometimes plotless stories, the sentences usually not correct, but Oliver found it cute.

"Sadie?" he called her name entering her room "Do you want apple pie?" Sadie looked at her dad leaving the toys and running to him. She nodded her head and put her arms up letting Oliver know she wanted him to carry her. With a sigh he picked her up and placed her on the sofa in the living room where on the coffee table was laying an apple pie, two plates and glasses with lemonade. He watched as his daughter greedly grabed a piece of the pie and a glass of lemonade in the other hand, wondering how to tell her she was going to spend her vacation with Felicity under one roof. He thought maybe her favorite food would make her less angry.

"How was your day today? What did you do with Sara?" he asked.

"We were swimming in the pool! Aunt said it's hot, we can play there. But not long. And then we helped with lunch!" smiled Sadie.

"Really? What did you do to help?"

"Uh…" Sadie looked confused. "Nothing," she said giggling, almost pouring the lemonade on her skirt. Oliver rolled his eyes knowing his daughter couldn't really stick to the conversation too long. When she was finally done eating Oliver took a deep breath, putting his princess on his lap and hugging her gently.

"I love you, you know that, right?" he asked kissing her chubby cheek.

"I love you too dad, but I want to play now," said Sadie, trying to escape.

"Wait, I'll go play with you, but listen to me," his daughter stopped moving and looked at her dad with her big blue eyes.

"Tomorrow evening we're going on our vacation. There's a sea next to our hotel and from there it's not far to our secret place near the lake."

"Fine," said Sadie "Can I go play now?"

"And we're going to build sand castles," Oliver kept telling her.

"Can Elly go with us? She likes castles."

"Sadie… You're my pretty little princess, right? Elly can go with us. Felicity is going too, but we'll find a place for Elly, okay?"

"City? Why?" Sadie wrapped her small hands around Oliver's neck and looked him in the eyes. "Why? I don't like City!"

"But City likes you and she wants to go. And she likes me and I like her. It's going to be fun!" Sadie's eyes started watering, a second later tears were running down her cheeks. She was shaking her head furiously.

"Shh, it's okay Sadie, no need to cry, it will be really nice!" Oliver felt her sobs shake her body and he felt a dull ache in his chest.

"Not nice, not nice!" She sobbed.

"Baby listen, Felicity will play with you and… she will build you a big sand castle. Please don't cry. And don't be rude! You'll have a lot of fun!"

"No daddy, no City! She is stupid!" yelled little girl and this time Oliver got angry.

"Enough! She's not stupid, you can't say that!" Sadie, still not used to her dad's anger stopped yelling and looked at him shocked. "Go to your room and wait for me."

Sadie stood up and ran to her room crying. Oliver stayed on the sofa, head in his hands, heart aching. How many times could he tell her he loves her the most in the world? How many times will it take until she finally understands it?

Sadie had been crying all day. Oliver called Lyla and told her he wouldn't be bringing Sadie over because she didn't want to leave her room. He gave up on all explanations and started packing. Once he finished he found his daughter sleeping on he bed. He picked her up with one hand, she murmured something, but didn't wake up completely. Oliver took his big suitcase in his other hand and carried Sadie and his baggage to the car. Felicity was already waiting near the parking lot in front of her building for him to pick her up. He drove down the street heading to her apartment when the car hit a pothole for a brief second and Sadie woke up.

"Dad?" she looked around, her eyes rested on Elly, her purple toy that Oliver brought to the car this morning. Sadie was sitting behind Oliver, Elly next to her on the middle back seat.

"Hello princess, how was your nap?"

"Fine," whispered Sadie sadly.

"Oh look, Felicity is standing there, see? Look what a nice dress she has. I'm sure she'll let you try it. You'll look like Elsa, she has a blue dress too," said Oliver praying for Sadie's good behavior. His daughter didn't say anything, holding Elly's hand tightly. Felicity saw Oliver and waved her hand smiling. Oliver could tell she was nervous and tried her best to hide it. He stopped the car and get out to help Felicity put her suitcase in the trunk. They exchanged a few kisses and a short while after that Felicity sat on the back seat next to Elly.

"Hello Sadie! Hello Elly…" said Felicity looking at Oliver's girl who was doing everything she could to avoid her gaze.

"Go away," said Sadie quietly, but Oliver got into the car again and started driving so Felicity thought she would just ignore the not nice beginning. They were driving in awkward silence for a few minutes, no one knowing what to say.

They were afraid the conversation would trigger Sadie's anger. Felicity quietly opened her bag and grabbed four bracelets. She bought three at first, all with blue flowers. She knew Oliver wouldn't wear one, but she thought it would be a nice way to show Sadie they are all a team now. Then Oliver told her Sadie insisted on taking Elly so Felicity bought another one. She put the bracelets on her wrist, the other on Elly's. Seeing Felicity was touching her toy, Sadie shifted in her car seat to see what's going on. Then Felicity leaned towards Sadie and reached her hand to give little girl her bracelet. Sadie's greedy nature made her take the small gift, especially now when her toy Elly was wearing one too. Oliver's daughter admired the soft blue flowers, but instead of putting the bracelet on her own hand she made Elly wear the second one. Felicity assumed it's not a bad thing, the bracelet was still in the car, not thrown out the window.

"Sadie, are you hungry?" Oliver broke the silence. His daughter funnily put a hand on her tummy.

"Yes," she answered and Oliver smiled widely.

"Pizza?"

"Yes," Sadie said again. She knew pizza meant they were close to the summer house. Oliver parked his car near the entrance, got out and helped Sadie. After convincing her that Elly could wait in the car he grabbed his daughter's hand and walked towards the bar. Sadie looked back a few times to see Felicity following them. Each time the little girl frowned and showed Felicity her tongue. Felicity was already annoyed. She tried her best to stay calm but Oliver's kid was driving her crazy.

"The same pizza as the last time?" Oliver asked Felicity. "That's our favorite, but we can order something else, up to you," he smiled and led his girls to one of the tables.

"That one was delicious" said Felicity sitting and saw Oliver's smile widen.

"Sadie" said Oliver kneeling in front of his daughter "daddy will go order food. Stay with Felicity and be nice." Sadie protested and already started crying, but Oliver didn't let her for the show and placed her in the chair near Felicity.

"Behave," he whispered and gave Sadie one of his best father's looks so she sat politely. At least until he turned around.

"Go away," said Sadie looking at Felicity angrily. Felicity sighed, even more annoyed than a minute ago.

"Why?" she asked trying to hide the venom in her voice.

"Because," whispered Sadie, wrapping her arms around her small body in a defensive gesture.

"Because what? What did I do to you? I want all the best for you, not only because I like your dad, but I like you too," Felicity lied at this point, she wasn't sure if she still liked the little girl, but her voice was calm, convincing, not a bit of anger in it. Sadie was rude and jealous and Felicity knew she was looking for an opportunity to pour something on her dress again.

"My daddy likes you…"

"Yeah, I guess he does. Does it bother you?" said Felicity quielty. Sadie looked confused.

"What is bother?" she asked shyly.

"Is it a bad thing your daddy likes me?" Felicity put her question in different words. It was very difficult to talk to such a small child about it. Sadie was sitting quielty, not answering and not looking at her father's girlfriend.

"Sadie?" called Felicity "Is it bad?" Sadie looked at Felicity. She could see the kindness in her gaze, her blue big eyes looking with poorly hidden amusement at Felicity's shining earrings and necklace. Behind all the nice things Sadie could see in Felicity a threat, an enemy. She couldn't understand why her dad wanted to be around this woman, she was scared she would lose her daddy for ever. She knew people didn't have moms sometimes and she assumed it can happen with dads as well.

"Girls, our pizza is getting ready," announced Oliver sitting at the table too. "We just have to wait a while… What happened?" he asked seeing both of his favorite girls sad and dangerously silent.

"Nothing," said Felicity and faked a smile. "We… just tried to talk." Sadie nodded and a second later she was sitting on her dad's knees hugging him tightly. Oliver took Sadie's silence as an opportunity to talk to Felicity. The rest of time that was left before they got their pizza they spent on talking, laughing and kidding, occasionally trying to pull Sadie into their conversation, but she was sitting quietly the whole time, barely moving. From time to time Oliver could feel her hands tighten on his neck or her fingers grab his arm, the one that rubbed calming patterns on her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not the end yet, but the next 2 chapters are going to be posted some time later. I can't tell when though. Thank you all for reading :)


	9. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :) It's me again I hope you'll like this chapter :))) Edited by wonderful olicityandsteroline (tumblr).

Oliver and Felicity drove to the beach near the secret house, laughing. Sadie was silent. At first Oliver took it as a good sign, but now he was worried. His daughter was sitting in her car seat hugging Elly, she wasn’t even upset when he and Felicity talked and laughed together. Felicity started worrying too because she could swear she saw tears on Sadie’s cheeks right before they made it to the beach. They decided to arrive at the hotel later in the evening. For now, pizza and sand castles waited for them.   
When Sadie noticed Oliver get out from the car she let Elly go and knocked on the window a few times.   
“Daddy, daddy!” she shouted loudly so Oliver could hear her through the door.   
“What’s up princess?” asked Oliver helping his daughter out of the car. Sadie reached for his hand to hold it and he noticed the blue bracelet Felicity brought.  Oliver thought the idea was quite good and as soon as there were no people around he would wear it. Sadie touched the bracelet, admiring blue flowers. Her bracelet was still on her toy’s arm and Oliver was wondering what he could do about it.   
“Hey, Sadie what’s up?” repeated Oliver. Sadie only shrugged her arms and Oliver picked her up to hug her. “Are we taking Elly to the beach?”   
“Ephants like beaches, right?” asked Sadie looking thoughtful.  
“Yeah… I’m sure they do,” said Oliver pulling Elly out of the car.  
“Sadie please hold this, this is a blanket, we’ll need it to sit down,” said Felicity giving Oliver’s girl the beach blanket. She grabbed the pizza, a bag and a picnic  basket from the trunk and headed towards the lake following Oliver. A few minutes later the three of them and Elly were sitting near the lake eating their dinner and drinking lemonade.   
“Can we go swim now?” asked Sadie tugging Oliver’s sleeve.  
“Not today princess, we’ve got everything at the bottom of our suitcase; bathing suits, towels, everything. But we’ll swim tomorrow,” explained Oliver.  
“I want… I want now,” Sadie kept tugging his shirt pulling him towards the water. That was weird. He’s been here with her so many times and she always understood that they couldn’t do something immediately, that she had to wait.  
“But you can’t swim now.”  
“And can we build a castle?” said Sadie hopefully.  
“Sure we can. Wait here with Felicity, I’ll go to get our shovel and bucket.” Oliver got up. “I’ve hid it under the stairs of the house I’ll be right back,” he said,  smiling at Felicity.  
“We’ll wait here,” she responded quickly.  
“No! Dad don’t go without me!” Sadie got up too, wanting to go with her dad, but he stopped her.   
“Stay with Felicity, I’ll be back. See the house?” Sadie nodded “I’ll run fast and go back immediately. Be nice,” said Oliver placing Sadie in Felicity’s opened arms.  
“Daddy?”  
“Shhh, honey, daddy will be back in a minute. Look how fast he’s running” said Felicity hugging Sadie’s small body that began to shake. “Oh no, no, no! Don’t cry!” pleaded Felicity, panic in her voice.   
“Daddy!” yelled Sadie. For Felicity’s sake Oliver was already going back with the shovel and bucket.  
“Hey, look, look Elly has your bracelet. I know you like these pretty blue flowers, let me put it on your hand,” Felicity reached to grab the toy, but Sadie’s cry  stopped her.  
“No, no, no! Go away! Go away!” Oliver stopped running by the blanket, anger clear to see on his face. Didn’t he ask Sadie to be nice?  
“What’s going on here? Can’t I leave you for one minute?” Sadie stood looking at her dad, her big eyes filled with tears. Suddenly she ran to Oliver and hugged his leg trying to calm herself from crying.   
“No! Can’t leave me!” sobbed Sadie.  
“Okay,” sighed Oliver looking at Felicity sadly “Be nice means do not shout go away. Felicity is not going away. Say that you’re sorry.”  
“But daddy…”  
“Enough Sadie! Apologize right now.” Oliver couldn’t be calm anymore, but hearing him Sadie sat down on the sand near his feet and wrapped her arms around her shaking her small head.  
“I’m sorry,” said Oliver to Felicity who was just sitting on the blanket not knowing what to do.   
“It’s okay,” said Felicity not very convincingly. “It’s not getting better, is it?” Oliver shook his head. Both adults looked at Sadie who silently grabbed a cookie from  the basket. Then she reached for her plastic mug with lemonade. She looked really cute. Felicity wondered how a child sweet as Sadie could cause her so much pain.  
“Do you want to go to the hotel?” asked Oliver taking Felicity’s hand in his squeezing it lightly.  
“Uh if you don’t want to build sand castles anymore then maybe we can go for a walk before the hotel?” offered Felicity. She leaned towards Oliver and planted a kiss on his cheek. Before Oliver could react Sadie stopped drinking her lemonade and threw her cup at Felicity who screamed as the cool liquid was poured on her dress.   
Oliver froze, his eyes wide. His daughter did this AGAIN. What the hell was she thinking? Sadie, not surprised at all jumped on Oliver’s lap wrapping her arms around his neck.  
“Bye City,” she said in her tiny voice and waved her hand at her dad’s girlfriend who looked like she wanted to throw Sadie into a pool of lemonade.  
“What?” yelled Oliver trying to take Sadie from his lap.   
“I wet her dress and she goes away. Did you forget?” Last time when Sadie poured her drink on Felicity she left. What a SMART child…  
“You’re rude! I’m so sorry Felicity! She won’t do it ever again!” Oliver was looking at Felicity who was trying to dry herself with some tissues. Tears were shining in  her eyes, but she wasn’t sad, no. She was livid, but as she spoke she was slowly calming herself down.  
“Yeah, sure, I bet that’s what you thought the last time she destroyed my dress…” Felicity sighed. She didn’t want to snap at Oliver, this was not his fault.   
“Oh no… I’m sorry Oliver. I need some air,” said Felicity getting up. “Which sounds strange because we’re outdoors and there’s plenty of air here. I’ll wait in the car. Take your time, build a castle… Sadie? Where are you going?” she shouted. Sadie was running towards the lake. Oliver didn’t waste much time and started running after her. When he managed to chase her she was already almost in the lake holding in her hands blue bracelets that a minute ago were on Elly’s arms. Before Oliver grabbed her she threw her gifts into the lake, her small frame didn’t allow to throw it far, but soft flowers quickly drowned.  
“Dad, yours too!” Sadie pointed her finger at Oliver’s wrist.   
“No way. City tried to make you happy with those bracelets. I mean… Felicity. She’s very sad because of you now! You were rude again!”  
“But…”  
“No!” Oliver pulled braceletes from the lake and carried Sadie towards the car.  
“But daddy, the castle!” the girl cried.  
“No City no castle! I mean… Felicity for god’s sake! And no Elly! She doesn’t like rude girls!” Felicity was carrying the picnic basket and a blanket to the car,  shovel and bucket under her arm, he was carrying yelling Sadie and her big toy that Oliver wished he could throw into that stupid lake.   
“Are you angry daddy?” asked Sadie, tears shining in her eyes again.  
“Yes, I am. You were rude, Felicity is sad now and you don’t want to apologize.” Oliver felt the ache in his heart looking at Sadie, but he really was angry.  
“When I say sorry, will you not angry anymore?”   
“I won’t be angry anymore,” said Oliver wondering if that will convince his stubborn daughter.  
“City? City I’m sorry,” yelled Sadie “You not angry, dad? Give me Elly back?” she asked and Oliver shook his head saying “no”.  
When all three of them were already in the car Oliver turned on the radio to interrupt the annoying silence. Felicity and Sadie were sitting on the back seat. Oliver’s girlfriend decided she wouldn’t give up because of Sadie’s sick behavior. She was going to show this little devil that she can’t be discouraged. She is not that easy to scare. She loved Oliver and she would try her best to love that little evil Queen. But didn’t she love her already?   
“Turn left Oliver, it’s right around the corner,” said Felicity quickly. Oliver parked his car on a parking lot in front of a modern building- their hotel.  
“I guess that’s it ladies,” said Oliver, nervous about what it will be like to spend a week with both of his beloved girls. He could already tell he wouldn’t be able to leave his daughter with Felicity for one minute. Not long after that Oliver led Felicity and Sadie to their hotel suite. They had a quite big living room with a big tv and a huge sofa and balcony, a small, but very nice kitchen, beautiful bathroom with both shower and a bathtub, a bedroom with a king sized bed and a secluded alcove with a smaller bed for Sadie. The sea could be seen from almost every window! The whole place was bright and cozy, the air smelled like lavender. It looked like they are going to have nice holiday… Unless Sadie hasn’t gotten tired of being rude yet.  
Felicity was sitting on the couch, changed into her sweats. She thought of what else she could do for Sadie to like her. It was getting worse, or at least not better. Both she and Oliver decided not to go anywhere tonight. They were exhausted because of the moody little girl. Felicity knew Oliver talked to her, but he didn’t have any experience with jealous kids so she had no idea how the talk went. All she knew was Sadie cried a lot and Oliver was still angry. Oliver came out of the bedroom carrying Sadie who now was dressed in her PJs.   
“Sadie stay here, read a book,” said Oliver roughly placing her on the couch and giving her her new book she got from the Diggles for her birthday. “Dad, where are you going?” she asked fearfully. “To take a shower. Wait here for me,” he leaned to kiss the blonde curls on her head and then leaned again to kiss Felicity. “Just 5 minutes, okay? I talked to her, she won’t be rude… I hope,” he whispered in her ear amd disappeared behind the door. Felicity glanced at Sadie who was  occupied with her new book.   
“Sadie?” called Felicity. She had to do it, otherwise the next glass of lemonade will land on this girl’s clothes. “I want to talk to you. I have to know why you don’t  like me. Why do you want me to go away?” Sadie didn’t react. “Hey, talk to me, girl to girl.” Felicity focused all good will from her heart and smiled at Oliver’s daughter. Still no response.  
“City?” whispered the girl after a while.  
“What’s up sweetheart?” asked Felicity softly. Sadie was looking at her shyly with her big blue eyes.   
“Can kids live alone?”  
“No, they need someone to take care of them, like your dad,” explained Felicity.  
“And when there’s no dad? And no mom?” Sadie was looking at her feet, her voice was a whisper, barely loud enough to hear. Felicity didn’t know what to say. Wasn’t Sadie too small to learn about how cruel this world is?  
“Then… there’s family… sometimes…”   
“So I will not be alone?” asked the little girl, tears in her eyes, small hands hugging the book.  
“Alone? What are you talking about? You have your daddy,” Felicity was confused, she crawled closer to Sadie on the couch to comfort her somehow.  
“But after you take him away,” Sadie couldn’t hold tears anymore and let them fall on her cheeks.   
“What? Sadie my sweetheart, I will not take your daddy away from you!” Felicity moved closer and wrapped her arms around Sadie’s tiny frame.  
“No? Will you go away? Dad will stay with me?” Oliver’s daughter couldn’t believe it. She thought she’ll be left all alone. Now Felicity felt the tears burn in her eyes.  
“I will never take your dad away from you, do you understand? Sadie? I won’t go away, but either won’t your dad!” Felicity looked her in the eyes trying to tell her to stop crying, that everything is going to be okay.  
“You will not take my dad?” Felicity shook her head. “Why are you here then?” Felicity took a deep breath. Was it all about that? Did Sadie think Felicity will make her dad leave her alone? Oliver was supposed to explain that to her!  
“Because I live alone. And I love your dad. And I love you little princess. And I want to live with you and your daddy. Together, so no one will be alone.” Felicity’s cheeks were also wet. Seeing that, Sadie hugged her and laid her head on Felicity’s shoulder breathing deeply, clearly relaxed.  
“You promise?”  
“I promise. I love you. You won’t be alone,” said Felicity between small sobs.  
“And you will not be alone. You live with us,” whispered Sadie looking thoughtful.   
“My bed is big for boff of us! But daddy won’t leave me?” she made sure again.  
“Daddy won’t leave you, of course he won’t,” said Felicity looking at Sadie with watery eyes, her voice shaking, but convincing. “Will you like me now? No more wet dresses?” asked Felicity with hope, but Sadie furrowed her brows and freed herself from the hug.  
“I have to tell dad first. He knows when everyone lies.” The small girl took her book in her hands again, but Felicity could feel her gaze. Sadie was pretending to read while watching her carefully.   
“So… we’ll ask daddy to sit here with us after he’s back from the bathroom and talk to him, okay?”   
“Fine,” said Sadie looking at her book. “I can’t read,” she whispered looking at Felicity hopefully.  
“Do you want me to read it to you?”  
“Yes please,” Oliver’s daughter was clearly excited and clapped her hands when Felicity took the book and started reading. She read the first page before Oliver ran out from the bathroom.  
“Are you both still alive?” Felicity could tell he was trying to be back as soon as possible. “Oh…” Oliver’s eyes landed on Felicity, her eyes red from crying, Sadie on her lap, her head on Felicity’s shoulder.  
“Dad!” a tiny voice broke the silence as Sadie jumped on the couch telling her dad to sit down. When he did as she asked Sadie looked at Felicity and gently jostled her arm.  
“What now?” she whispered. Felicity took the girl’s small hand in her bigger one and looked at Oliver.  
“So, Oliver,” she took a deep calming breath and felt Oliver’s hand on her knee in a reassuring gesture, “Sadie and I had a small talk and I guess there’s something you need to tell her that I’ve already told her, but she may not believe me so I really need you now. Not only I, she needs you too, but obviously you already knew that, how could you…” “City?” asked Sadie hesitanly because she was sure her daddy’s friend isn’t telling what she should be. Oliver was looking at his girls in confusion.   
“Right. I think Sadie was rude because she misunderstood the situation.” Oliver furrowed his brow not knowing what was going on, wanting further explanation.  
“What do you mean?” he asked.  
“I mean that she apparently thought that I’m going to take you away from her and she was afraid of being lonely. She wanted me to go away so you could stay with her, not leaving her alone,” as she spoke Oliver’s eyes grew bigger. It all made sense now! Her fear and anger, all of it was because she was so scared of losing him! How could he not notice it? He told her he loved her so many times, he hugged her until she fell asleep, but she still didn’t know he would never leave her? ALONE? Oliver felt a sharp pain in his chest and tears in his eyes. He blinked several times to let them fall. He looked at Sadie who was looking at him expectantly, her hand still in Felicity’s. He leaned over his daughter placing his free hand on her back. He didn’t know if he could talk right now. Everything hurt, every blink, every breath, let alone talking. Felicity must have sensed his distress because she squeezed Sadie’s hand and then let it go so Oliver could hug his little princess.   
“I will never let you be alone,” he whispered unsure of his voice. Sadie immediately hugged him back.  
“So City was not lying? You not leave because of City?” asked Sadie looking at the older girl clearly relieved when her dad shook his head.  
“No, she wasn’t. I won’t leave you my baby. Felicity will never let it happen.” Oliver looked at his girlfriend who was sitting very close to both Queens, tears in her eyes, sad smile on her lips. “Is that why you wanted City to go away? Felicity to go away?”  
“I was scared. There’s a monster under my bed. Only you can take him out. And alone… alone I will be sad,” Sadie laid her head on his shoulder sweetly and sighed quietly. “You stay with me?” Felicity watched as Oliver nodded his head kissing Sadie’s cheeks. “City stay with me?” asked Sadie looking at her dad with hope.  
“Ask her,” advised Oliver, smiling at his girlfriend. She smiled back at him.  
“City stay with me?” Sadie turned around to face Felicity who was having a silent conversation with Oliver.  
“I will stay with you and your dad.” Felicity and Sadie hugged, Oliver looked at them still shocked. How could his daughter think something like that? She never would have if he was a better father. Then he felt warm arms around him and his girls included him in their hug.   
“I love you my beautiful ladies,” whispered Oliver smiling widely.  
“I love you dad!” shouted Sadie straight to his ear laughing loudly.  
“I love you Oliver,” Felicity kissed his cheek. “And I love you Sadie,” she added.  
“Are you my aunt?” asked Sadie confused.  
“No, no I’m not, why?”   
“Only auntie Thea and aunt Lyla love me” explained the little girl, her brows furrowed as she tried to figure it out. From all girls in the world only her aunts loved her.  
“So now I love you too. But I’m just… City. Not your aunt. Is that okay?”   
“Okay,” said Sadie and hugged both adults tightly. They sat like that for a while, Oliver hiding his wet from happy tears face in Sadie’s curls. Felicity was smiling,  Oliver’s hands moving gently on her back. Sadie was between them, her hands around her dad’s neck, head back on Felicity’s shoulder.  
“Sadie?” whispered Oliver.  
“Hmmm…” hummed Sadie, visibly tired, her eyes closed.   
“We’ll go to sleep now, okay? Hold on tight,” said Oliver and gently took Sadie is his arms and carried to the other room. Felicity follwed them carrying Sadie’s book.   
Oliver placed Sadie on her hotel bed and covered her with a blanket.   
“Sleep my sweet princess,” said Oliver and looked at Felicity who stood beside the bed smiling. “And what about you? Want to sleep?”   
“It’s been a long day. Do you think it will be okay from now on?” she asked looking at the sleeping girl.   
“I hope it will be,” he said hugging her, snuggling his face in the crook of her neck.   
“Come on,” said Felicity gently pushing him away, “time to sleep,” she grabbed his hand and pulled towards the big bed.   
“How could she think something like that?” asked Oliver once they both settled comfortably in each other’s arms. “I did something terribly wrong, I just… I just  don’t know what. What can I do to be a better father?”   
“It wasn’t your fault. It was just a misunderstanding, I don’t know, maybe I did something wrong. But Oliver, what matters now is that she finally understands. I hope.”   
Felicity tried to comfort Oliver the best she could. She felt hurt Sadie thought of her like that, but now it didn’t matter anymore. “You are an amazing dad, Oliver.”  Felicity turned her head to kiss him passionately in his mouth. He quickly responded and pulled her closer to him.   
“I love you,” whispered Oliver.  
“I love you too.” Felicity cradled his cheek smiling.  
“Dad?” Sadie’s tiny voice called him from the opposite corner of the room.  
“Sadie? Dad’s here. Why are you awake?”  
“I don’t know. Come here!” she pleaded.  
“You come here. Felicity is here too, we can tell you a bedtime story,” offered Oliver and Felicity nodded.  
“But there is a monster under my bed! I can’t go out!” lamented Sadie.  
“There’s no monster, I checked after you fell asleep,” said Oliver. He didn’t know where did she got this cliche “monster under my bed” idea, but she took it very seriously.   
Trusting her dad Sadie jumped out of her bed, bare feet hitting the cold floor. A few seconds later she was laying between Oliver and Felicity, hugged by both of them.   
“You stay wiff me?” asked Oliver’s daughter quietly before drifting back to sleep.  
“Yes,” whispered Felicity, “we’ll stay with you. Sleep baby girl.” she looked into Oliver’s eyes and they both knew this vacation was going to be better than any other they had in the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading :) The next chapter will be the last one and then I'll probably post a few one shots connected to that story... Until next time ~missfsmoak :)


	10. Happy ending

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! This is the last chapter of this fanfic... As I said I may post a one-shot as a continuation, but I can't promise when :( THANK YOU for reading, commenting and leaving kudos! And bookmarking of course :) It means a lot. All of your wonderful comments were feeding my muse and during all this time they were encouraging me to write next chapters. I couldn't ask for better readers! In general tumblr users: apollosgirlfriend.co.vu AND olicityandsteroline.tumblr.com were editing this story- THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Without them posting wouldn't be possible. This chapter was edited by wonderful olicityandsteroline. Okay, no more talking. I hope you'll like this chapter:

“No, Oliver I have no idea what you just did, but I’m telling you this is not a braid.” Felicity’s usual soft voice had a hint of frustration in it. She was sitting with her precious Queens on the beach trying to teach her boyfriend how to braid Sadie’s hair. The little girl was sitting still at first watching sea waves hitting the shore, but after Oliver’s fifth failure she started moving impatiently.   
Six days have passed since her last anger attack. She and Felicity were getting along very well. They were holding hands almost everywhere they went, singing Disney songs together in the hotel room and playing dress-up all the time. Sadie was jealous for sure, but now a kiss to her blonde curls was all it took to make her happy again.   
“Can we go swim now?” asked Sadie trying to look at Oliver who tried his best to braid his daughter’s hair.   
“One more try princess and then we’ll go,” Sadie sighed at his comment and shrugged her small arms. She was getting more and more bored with each second.  
“Oliver focus now, you’re doing it well so far. Okay… stay focused and I think you’ll make it…” Felicity was crossing her fingers for luck. “Sadie only a minute longer, daddy can almost braid your hair,” said Felicity trying to keep the little girl occupied.  
“Why? Now you can braid my hair,” noticed Sadie.  
“Yes, but he really wanted to learn… And yay! Your daddy made a braid. Bravo!” shouted Felicity clapping her hands. Sadie started laughing happily and threw her arms around Oliver’s neck. He smiled at his beloved girls clearly proud of himself.  
“Can we go swim now?” asked Sadie impatiently jumping off the blanket, her tiny feet hitting warm sand. She couldn’t swim, but she loved learning how to do it. She had lots of inflatable water-wings and dolphin shaped toys that helped her staying above the water.  
“Yes, sure we can,” said Oliver getting up.   
“City come on, you can swim with Fishy,” said Sadie pointing to the biggest dolphin Oliver had to drag to the beach everyday along with huge cuddly elephant Elly and other dolphins in all shades of rainbow.  
“Maybe next time I’ll go with you, I have to stay here watching our stuff. Have fun with dad,” Felicity waved her hand at both of them, the brightest smile on her face. Things were going great so far and she was pretty sure it would stay like that. At least for now. Her boring life as an IT girl seemed so far away. How could she think she’s been happy before? She laid on the blanket, head on a material beach bag, morning breeze tangling her hair, eyes behind her sunglasses looking at the sky looking for funnily shaped clouds. She found a white “ephant” Elly on the sky as she felt her phone vibrating under her head.   
The caller ID said Walter Steele. A million thoughts crossed her mind. Was the server broken? Did someone hack the newest secret technology that was about to be showed to the investors? Unless it was about something else… but that couldn’t be, could it? Did her secret plan work?  
“Hello?” she didn’t waste any more time for theories, she picked up the phone.   
“Miss Smoak, sorry to interrupt your free time. Is Oliver near you?” his posh accent made everything he said even more official.  
“No, not right now,” she replied, her brows furrowed in confusion.  
“Great. Everything will be done before tomorrow noon.”  
“What? I mean… really? That’s amazing!” she almost squealed with excitement.   
“They will be so happy, but I’m running out of excuses why we shouldn’t go there, today for example I forced them to go to the beach with me because I prefer the sea than lake and… I’m sorry, I’m going to stop. Now. I don’t know how to thank you…”  
“Just send me a picture of your happy faces,” Felicity heard his reply and started wondering why can’t he sometimes be kind enough to stop her babbling.  
“Yes, sir,” said Felicity immediately.  
“I will inform you when everything is ready and where the key is,” said Walter.   
“Okay, okay… That’s awesome!” Felicity tried her best not to jump around the blanket. “Thank you so much for everything! Oh no I have to go, Oliver’s coming back. I mean I’m happy he’s coming back, but oh no I have to go and he’s closer and closer and a few more steps and he will hear everything I’m saying…”  
“Miss Smoak!” Walter interrupted her babbling. “Have a nice day, goodbye.”   
She didn’t have time to respond because he ended the call, laughter noticeable in the last sentence. Felicity blushed in embarrassment and put her phone back in the bag. He was kind enough to make her stop babbling.  
“City, City!” wet Sadie straight from the sea was running towards her with open arms. Felicity’s eyes went wide at the sudden cold touch on her bare stomach.   
“City play with me in water, daddy will stay now!” Sadie was jumping around Felicity happily, her tiny braid wetting the blanket.   
“Hey, I told you to ask politely if Felicity wants to play,” said Oliver sitting next to his girlfriend planting a kiss on her hot from the sun cheek and wrapping a cold, wet arm around her waist not letting her go until Sadie asked politely.  
“You jerk,” whispered Felicity into Oliver’s ear, “move the blanket out of the shadow and warm up, I’m going to squeeze my hair dry on those gorgeous abs of yours when I’m back.”   
“Hey, hey!” Sadie stopped jumping and sat right next to the adults to remind them of her presence. She was still jealous when she saw her dad and Felicity too close to each other when she wasn’t there with them, but she knew neither of them was going to leave her. Oliver and Felicity talked about that. It all happened fast, but not too fast for them. They knew they were crazy in love with each other for months now and that after their relationship survived Sadie’s madness they knew nothing could stand in the way. Felicity thought living with Oliver would be difficult though. Why did he have to leave wet towels on the bed? And she couldn’t understand why the open wardrobe doors annoyed him so much. She has to know what’s in the wardrobe to decide what to wear, right?   
“Want to play in water City? With me? Please?” said Oliver’s little girl, titling her head sweetly.   
“Sure, how do you want to play?” Asked Felicity.  
“We are mermaids and we swim with fish,” explained Sadie and lifted one of the dolphins from the sand waiting for Felicity to stand up and play with her.  
“Sadie, I told you already, dolphins are mammals, fish are… fish.” Oliver tried so hard to explain it to her minutes ago and she still had none of that.  
“Yes dad, this is fish. Fish are fish. City take yellow!”  
Felicity thought that confused Sadie was the cutest sight ever. Taking the yellow toy she gave Oliver her famous “she’s only three” look. Going towards the water Sadie held Felicity’s free hand and Oliver couldn’t help the warm feeling spread inside his chest. Felicity and Sadie didn’t look alike, but they both had blonde hair, big blue eyes and a bright smile on their lips. He couldn’t blame people for mistaking Felicity for Sadie’s mom. It happened a few times during the last couple of days. Yesterday they went to buy ice cream in one of the nice coffee shops near the beach. Felicity lifted Sadie so she could see all flavors, yes, see the flavors as Sadie liked picking the colors instead of actual tastes. When Sadie was asked which flavor she wants she blushed and hid her face in Felicity’s soft curls whispering “yellow pink” and the cashier gasped in awe “ah you have such an adorable daughter.” Felicity tensed and Oliver heard she inhaled sharply, but he also noticed the grin on her face and the way she kissed the top of Sadie’s head hugging her closer. Oliver was watching his precious girls, both of them already in water, waves hitting Sadie’s legs causing her to sway so Felicity had to keep her hand on girl’s back to steady her.  
“City what’s your name? I’m Ariel,” Sadie introduced herself and Felicity took her hand in a soft yet firm grip shaking it slightly.  
“Nice to meet you Ariel. My name is… um… Katie. Is Katie okay?”   
“Yeah, okay. Katie is fine,” said Sadie laying on her “fish”. It was like a mattress and she could effortlessly “swim”. The water only reached Felicity’s knees so she couldn’t swim, she just sat in the water.   
“Katie, sharks eat mermaids, we have to go!” whispered Sadie pretending to be terrified pointing an invisible shark.  
“Oh no! Ariel swim faster, we can hide in the cave,” Felicity stood up and started walking straight on pulling Sadie with her careful to not let her fall into the water. The little girl started laughing and Felicity, encouraged, played with her for the next half an hour before they went back to the hotel.   
“It was more fun than with dad,” Sadie confessed quietly when Felicity was drying her hair with the towel. “He only teaches me. To swim.”  
“Oh, but I bet it’s fun too. And it’s good to know how to swim,” said Felicity who knew Sadie loved swimming with Oliver.  
“Yes, it is…” sighed Sadie. “City?”  
“Yes sweetheart?” Felicity sensed the change in Sadie’s mood. She kneeled next to her and took her small hands in her bigger ones.   
“Sorry City,” the tears shone in Oliver’s daughter’s eyes and she quickly looked down on her feet. Confused, Felicity didn’t know what to do.  
“For what baby girl? What happened?”   
“I was bad,” whispered Sadie, the tears falling down her cheeks.  
“What?”   
“I did not like you. I wanted you go away,” cried Sadie, her body shaking, she pulled her hands from Felicity’s grip to cover her wet face. “You were sad,” said the little girl between sobs.  
“Oh Sadie!” Felicity pulled the girl on her lap hugging her tightly wiping her tears away. “I thought we were okay now, aren’t we? It’s okay, you’re not being bad anymore,” Felicity didn’t know what else to say. She should have apologized before, not now when everything was finally perfect! She kissed Sadie’s blonde curls rocking her gently in her arms. She heard Oliver entered the room and stood next to the door, but she didn’t even think of turning to face him.  
“Never go away City. I be nice, I promise!” Felicity could almost feel her bones crushing as Sadie hugged her even tighter.  
“It’s okay, I want to stay with you. I know you will be nice, I know sweetie. I love you. It’s okay, I’m not angry anymore.”  
“Not?” Sadie lifted her face and placed her hand on Felicity’s cheek. Felicity smiled and shook her head.  
“It’s good you know that what you did was wrong. And I’m happy you want me to stay,” Felicity heard Oliver moving towards them. “I’ll do everything I can to stay with you little princess,” Oliver knelt beside them hugging both of them. The scene looked anything but cute, Sadie and Felicity both with wet hair tangled in the towels, eyes red and wet from tears, Oliver in his sweatpants clumsily trying not to lose balance on the uncomfortable floor.  
“Let’s not get out today,” he said. “Frozen or Malascar?”  
“City choose.”   
“It all started with Malascar,” she said smiling at Oliver.  
“Malascar then. Who first on the couch?” yelled Oliver and got up quickly running to the other room, Sadie and Felicity following him with laughter. He was beyond happy he heard Sadie apologizing Felicity. He talked a lot about it to his little daughter, but she never seemed to listen. Apparently she did. She understood life was better with Felicity around. She still didn’t understand what Felicity was doing in their life in the first place, she even asked her dad a few times, but he only said that she’s not Sadie’s aunt, but she still has every right to love her.  
The next morning they woke up on the couch, Sadie’s feet digging uncomfortably in Oliver’s stomach, her small head on Felicity’s already numb arm, Elly’s leg right in front of Felicity’s face. They all slept in a half sitting position not caring at all, all that mattered was that they were together. The tv was still on after all the movies they’ve watched, popcorn all over the blanket and the floor as one of them had accidentally kicked the bowl during the night.  “Hey beautiful,” said Oliver and Felicity carefully put Sadie’s huge toy away from her and off the couch.   
“Morning handsome,” Oliver felt like her smile warmed him up. She looked beautiful. Her blonde messy hair around her face shone in morning light that peeked through the curtains. “Sleep well?” She asked shifting and crying out in pain as she moved her sore neck. Damn couch!  
“Haha very funny,” groaned Oliver. “My back hurts, and my stomach was being a training dummy all night…”   
“You’re whining like a pregnant lady Oliver!” laughed Felicity. Sadie’s foot moved towards her dad’s face and rested against his shoulder, her small hand that was tangled in Felicity’s hair also moved.  
“Ouch!” cried Felicity.  
“Hold on, I’ll wake her up,” said Oliver and tickled his daughter’s foot and Sadie’s eyes shot open immediately.  
“No, no, no, no tickles!” She shouted and fell off the couch landing on her purple elephant. She looked around at the mess on the floor and with eyes wide open looked at her dad and his girlfriend who were laughing and talking to her in their funny voices.  
“Hello my pretty sweetie,” Felicity leaned down and picked Sadie up placing her in the middle of the couch. Her dad was laughing while the room was messy? Something was not right.   
“Hello City,” she whispered confused still looking around. Her dad should be up now, cleaning that mess, he should tell her not to make a mess again and she should try to help him with cleaning. He should look tired, he should be smiling only when his eyes met Sadie’s eyes. For some reason it didn’t bother Sadie. She was confused, but liked her “new” dad. Even with Felicity around he had plenty of time for her, and when he didn’t Felicity had. Sadie was sure Felicity wasn’t taking her daddy away from her. Sometimes Sadie didn’t have all of Oliver’s attention like she was used to, but she could see he was happy so she didn’t mind. Sadie felt a strong arm pulling her. Her dad hugged her whispering a soft “Hello princess,” in her ear.  
“Hi dad,” she wrapped her arms around his biceps and put her head on it yawning.   
“Oh, my sleepy little princess what do you want to do today?” asked Oliver.  
“Build sand castles! Sand castles filalala… laly” Felicity’s thoughts drifted to the secret house. That’s where Sadie wanted to go finally after all these days. Felicity was glad Walter called yesterday, she was a little scared though. What if Oliver will be mad? That’s something she’s never considered before. He loved this place, what if she crossed the line? They were in a relationship, serious, steady relationship, but what if she went too far? Suddenly she realized Oliver was looking at her questioningly and Sadie is pulling her sleeve with a concerned look on her face.   
“Look daddy, City woke up,” said Sadie with a sincere smile.  
“What?” asked Felicity, her cheeks flushed at her thoughts that scared her to the bone, heart beating furiously. Did she have a way back?   
“Are you okay?” Felicity nodded quickly.  
“Yeah, it’s um… What did you say?” Oliver wasn’t convinced, but decided to leave it like that. If there’s something wrong Felicity would have told him for sure.  
“I just asked if it’s okay with you if we went to the secret house. I promised Sadie those castles two days ago. I know you may not like this place after everything that happened last time… but it’s just for a couple of hours,” Oliver looked at her with a pleading gaze.  
“No, no. I mean… yes. Uh I still like the place” Felicity got up and started searching for her phone. It was past 10 which meant Mr. Steele might have sent her a message already. When she found it she immediately read the message: “Everything ready. Key under the doormat. Good luck! Don’t forget to send me the happy face photo! W.S.” So she had no way back. She took a deep breath and tried to smile at Oliver, instead she giggled nervously. “Breakfast first! Get ready everyone,” she said a little too loud and started cleaning the mess on the table, she hoped Oliver wouldn’t notice her shaking hands. She definitely went too far and now she was going to pay for it.  
“Is City angry?” Felicity heard Sadie whispering shyly and felt guilt washing over her.   
“No baby, I’m not angry,” Felicity came to the couch and picked Sadie up. “Let’s get you dressed up and we’ll go build sand castles, okay? I’m not angry, just a little tired, the sofa is not comfortable.”  
“What’s cofomofable?” Sadie hugged Felicity and asked confused.  
“It’s not a good place to sleep. What do you want to wear today? Look, what a pretty dress you have here. Is it okay?” Felicity tried to keep herself busy talking to Sadie. Oliver already cleaned most of the mess in the sitting room and ordered the breakfast in.   
“You dress up first,” pleaded Sadie.  
“Why? Do you want to eat first?”  
“Um… no, blue dress,” Sadie pointed at Felicity, “and blue dress,” she pointed a finger at herself. “Or red or um… green.” Sadie looked shyly at Felicity who quickly understood what the little girl meant.   
“Okay, wait here,” smiling, Felicity went to grab her favorite pink dress and showed it to Sadie. “You have a pink one too, can you find it?”  
“Yes!” Oliver’s daughter jumped happily and grabbed her pink dress jumping around Felicity. Felicity thought maybe at least Sadie will like her surprise? After the breakfast Felicity and Sadie packed everything needed for the beach, a few blankets, towel, some sweets and Oliver took care of the popcorn that could be found in the most awkward places in the room.   
“Are you ready girls?” He knocked to the bedroom door opening it carefully. Sadie immediately ran to the door.  
“Dad is Elly ready?”  
“Elly?” Oliver hoped he wouldn’t have to carry this awful toy today too.  
“Ephants like beaches,” scolded Sadie and Oliver couldn’t help but laugh at her serious expression. Felicity walked to the doors, opening them wide.  
“We’re ready,” she said, nervousness mixed with excitement causing her heart to beat faster than ever.  
“Daddy, up!” Sadie raised her arms and stood in front of Oliver.  
“I’m carrying Elly, she can’t walk, you can, so no carrying today,” Sadie made a sad face, but Felicity grabbed her hand and lead her down the stairs. Both dressed in the same shade of pink, blonde hair, holding hands, they really looked like mother and daughter to Oliver. Who cared Felicity was a natural brunette? During the whole ride to the secret house Felicity was strangely quiet. Sure she talked to Oliver and Sadie, but it wasn’t her usual babbling, she waited quietly for Oliver’s reaction. When Oliver parked his car in its usual place Felicity jumped out of the car. She helped Sadie get out glancing at the house every second. Oliver put the blankets on the sand, carried all bags and Felicity carried Sadie to the lake.   
“Look what a nice lake. Don’t you want to swim?”  
“I want to!” Sadie jumped happily in her arms and Felicity decided to keep the game going.  
“Ask dad to help you get Fishy ready. I can’t do it,” Felicity gave Sadie her pack with the dolphin shaped mattress and let her run to Oliver.   
“I left my phone in the car, I’ll be right back,” shouted Felicity towards her boyfriend. “When I’m back Fishy has to be ready to swim,” she yelled and ran towards the car. She looked back at Oliver who was facing the lake and she turned towards the house and ran faster. The doormat was really there, brand new, on the perfectly clean doorstep. It couldn’t be seen from where Oliver was looking so he didn’t notice anything. Felicity reached her hand under the mat and she felt cold metal against her fingers. Now that she knew the key was there for sure she turned around and called Oliver.   
“Hey Oliver, Sadie, come here for a minute!” She had no idea her heart coulc beat that fast. Summer sun and warm, humid air didn’t help. With shaking hands Felicity unlocked the door, but didn’t push them open until Oliver and Sadie stood behind her.   
“What happened? Is it the pretty butterfly sitting on the doorknob again?” asked Oliver and Sadie clapped her hands with excitement, but as soon as he looked down he knew it’s not that. Who put that doormat here?  
“Now that I think of it I know I should have told you, but I wanted it to be a surprise for your birthday. I know your birthday isn’t until next month, but… still.” whispered Felicity looking at her hand at the door. She didn’t know what’s inside, she only knew Walter Steele convinced his wife to make a step to improve her relationship with her son by giving him the house he loved so much thanks to the best childhood memories. Oliver’s brows furrowed and Felicity pushed the door watching him carefully.   
“Felicity?” he looked at her clearly confused and she stepped aside to let him enter. The small sitting room had been renovated, the fireplace brand new, but in the same design as the old one. The furniture also reminded Oliver of the pieces he knew from his childhood, but they were new too, sofa covered with a white blanket, just as he remembered it, perfectly suitable to the house design. Oliver was speechless, he put Sadie on the floor and slowly walked to the kitchen. The sun rays that were falling into the room through the window landed on the wooden floor, warming it up. Here Oliver could tell the furniture was new too because there was no broken drawer, and the color was slightly darker than he remembered, but they looked exactly the same. Whoever had done the renovations was incredible. Everything about each room was exactly the way he remembered it, down to the last detail. Walking into each room was like walking back in time.Felicity was still watching him and Sadie who felt the magic in this moment and stayed silent and followed her dad everywhere he went, not touching anything, just watching with awe. On the table Felicity saw an envelope with Oliver’s name on it. She knew he saw it too, but he hesitated before he reached for it. Felicity could tell the handwriting wasn’t Walter’s. Oliver pulled out a small sheet of paper with a short message on it. Felicity wasn’t sure what it said, but his lower lip trembled lightly and he let out a sharp breath.  
“Oliver please say something,” she whispered finally and put her hand on his hand that rested on a kitchen table. He looked up at her, shook his head and felt her tense. He couldn’t believe she did all of this for him and for Sadie who kept asking him what was inside the house ever since she started talking. How could she be nervous about it? It was something he could only dream of and now he had it thanks to her. He didn’t trust his voice so he wrapped his arms around Felicity’s waist pulling her against his chest. She immediately relaxed and threw her hands around his neck letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She had no idea what the note was about, but she couldn’t care less at this moment. When he finally let her go Sadie was standing near the stairs looking up.   
“What’s there?” She asked pointing at the ceiling and looking at Felicity. A second later she felt also Oliver’s gaze on her.  
“Don’t look at me, I don’t know. We have to find out,” she said laughing and Followed Oliver and Sadie who started climbing the stairs. “I think it’s only one room here” said Felicity when they stood in a small corridor.   
“Look Sadie you have your own bedroom,” said Oliver and opened the door with a colorful “SADIE” on it. His daughter jumped into the room sighing loudly.  
“Oh wow,” she whispered when she saw her small princess-like chamber. The curtains were in all shades of rainbow, so was the carpet, but the room still looked classy. Various toys were sitting on shelves, and a big doll house sat in the corner of the room right next to the shelf with books. All the furniture was made of wood painted white and made the room look bigger, brighter. Sadie ran to the bed to check if it was low enough for her to climb on it.   
“Stay here if you want to, I’ll go with City to see another room,” said Oliver to Sadie who nodded not even looking at him. She found the book shelf and saw her favorite story among the others.   
“With City, huh? Looks like you like my nickname,” said Felicity smiling at Oliver who opened the door to their bedroom.   
“I like everything about you,” he whispered in her ear and then started planting her neck with soft kisses.   
“So you like this surprise,” said Felicity, her head on his shoulder to give him better access to her neck.  
“Very much”  
“Even the pink pillows?”  
“Well… I guess pink is our color. Pink blanket, pink pajamas…”  
“One of the drinks you bought me was pink too,” added Felicity.  
“Really? I don’t remember that.”   
“I told you, you were not just TIRED,” giggled Felicity. She turned around in his arms to face him and kiss his lips with all the passion in love that was in her heart.  
“I love you Felicity Smoak,” said Oliver still holding her in his arms.  
“And I love you Oliver Queen,” she said and kissed him again.  
Oliver, Felicity and Sadie were laying on a blanket near the lake watching stars on a cloudless sky. After lots of swimming, building the biggest sand castle Sadie’s ever seen and taking some of the “happy faces” photos for Walter Sadie was falling asleep, her head on Felicity’s shoulder. The night was very warm and after a small picnic they decided to stay outside a few minutes longer. A few minutes extended into hours, Oliver said they don’t have to go back to the hotel tonight. To Felicity’s surprise the fridge was full of food, all cupboards were full of dishes, new as well as old ones, Oliver even found his favorite mug he got on tenth birthday. She knew her boss was rich, but she had no idea he was rich and thoughtful. Sadie snuggled closer to Felicity.  
“Sleep baby girl,” whispered Felicity kissing the small head, hugging Sadie a little tighter. “I love you my princess. And now sleep.”  
“Love you too City,” said Sadie closing her eyes. “Love you too, sweet dreams City,” Sadie repeated and Felicity felt tears on her cheeks. Something inside her stirred, she had no idea she would ever hear that from Oliver’s daughter and now she repeated it twice, her small hands gripping her shoulders tightly. Oliver leaned over his girlfriend to kiss the happy tears away from her beautiful face. He couldn’t be happier, the two girls he loved the most in the whole world finally got along. He had dreamt of a real family many times, he was wondering what it would be like if Sadie had a mother, stepmother actually. He never thought he could have it though. The day he spent with Felicity on their first date all those months ago gave him hope. Looking at the stars, feeling Felicity’s warmth next to him, hearing Sadie’s steady breaths made him drift into these thoughts again. Oliver could imagine Felicity in a white dress, Sadie dressed as a fairy with a basket of flowers smiling shyly, walking between the crowd of their friends and family…  
“Marry me,” Felicity heard the whisper and for a second she thought it was just her imagination, but she looked at Oliver and knew it was him. He just realized he said it out loud and he felt like his heart stopped beating. “I mean… I didn’t want to ruin the moment. And I don’t have a ring. I bought it yesterday, the one matching your earrings, but it’s at the hotel…” Felicity didn’t know what to say, it was too much for one day. Have Oliver just proposed? After a while that to Oliver seemed like eternity she finally found words.  
“Babbling is my thing, you’re not good at it,” she blurted out smiling at him. She tried to move, but Sadie’s head on her shoulder kept her still.  
“Will you make me the happiest man on Earth and marry me Felicity?” Asked Oliver again, Felicity’s smile relaxing him a little.  
“Yes,” she whispered placing her free hand on his cheek.  
“I know it’s not how you’ve imagined it, I promise I have a ring and your favorite wine and I’ll book…”  
“Oliver, please… It was a wonderful proposal,” Felicity blinked a few times to fight the tears, she would not let them fall one more time tonight, happy tears are still tears after all. “I couldn’t dream of a better one.”  
“It’s good to hear. And you know I couldn’t dream of a better birthday gift?”  
“It’s good to hear too. Oliver… What was in that letter?” she asked shyly.  
“It was from my mother,” he explained. “She said that if I ever want to hear a prepared for years apology or have a BBQ with my mom I just have to make one call,” said Oliver looking at the sky.   
“That’s good, isn’t it?”  
“She has nothing to apologize for. But I do. And there’s nothing I can do to apologize for what I did.”  
“I’m sure that’s not true, what you’re saying. Now it’s going to be okay. It’s going to be good, you both want to right the wrongs and you’re both scared, but it’s going to be okay,” whispered Felicity in Oliver’s ear. He looked at her and sat on the blanket.  
“I know it’s going to be okay,” smiled Oliver.  
“So kiss me properly instead of whining,” said Felicity smiling back at him.  
“I’ll put Sadie to bed and I’ll kiss you properly my dear fiance,” said Oliver quietly picking Sadie up.  
“Thank you my hero, her elbow was torturing my ribs,” giggled Felicity and followed her Queens to the small wooden house that now meant as much for her as it meant for them.  
THE END

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, really the end :/ I hope you liked it. Thank you again for all nice comments! I appreciate them! (you can keep sending them :)) I hope I'll see you again after the one-shots come out :D I don't know when though.


	11. One day before the wedding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello :) I’m back :) I just want you to know that THE CONTINUATING ONE SHOTS ARE NOT IN ORDER!!! BEFORE THIS CHAPTER THERE IS A CHAPTER ABOUT THE PROPOSAL PARTY, BUT IT’S NOT READY YET :) Edited by gillianew19 from tumblr :) THANK YOU :)

Only one day before his wedding and Oliver was livid. It was a Friday afternoon and he came from work earlier than usual to get some rest before the big day. He knew he wouldn’t rest much with Sadie and Sara at home, but preferred playing with toddlers than meeting some boring people who only cared about money. Apparently his new executive assistant haven’t cancelled this evenings meeting and he had to go back to the company immediately. His daughter and her friend, that Oliver promised to look after as her parents were visiting Lyla’s mother in Coast City, were playing dress up in Sadie’s room. Yesterday Lyla got a call that her mother was in the hospital after an emergency surgery and she had decided to go there as soon as she can. Diggle and Sara were supposed to stay in Starling, but Oliver offered to take care of Sara until they’re back. At first his friends didn’t want to agree on that, but Oliver and Felicity assured them that the wedding was all ready and taking care of their daughter wouldn’t be a problem. They knew Lyla could use some support. Her mother’s condition was good, but still she was shaken up imagining that the car accident could have ended way worse for her mom than just with a broken arm and a concussion. That’s how Sara ended up in their house yesterday’s evening for a sleepover with Sadie. John promised to pick her up as soon as they are back which will be late tonight or tomorrow morning.  
Oliver headed to the bathroom and tried to open the door. 

“No! No, no, no! Oliver you can’t come in!” Felicity yelled excitedly.

“What? Felicity, I have to go to work, let me in” said Oliver, his voice calm now, anger fading away after hearing his bride to be’s voice.

“I can’t. And I won’t. Not a chance, you’re not getting in” her voice was way more firm and Oliver knew he won’t be able to convince her.

“Why not? Felicity… What are you doing in there?” wondered Oliver.

“I’m… well, I’m trying the dress on” said Felicity shyly. Her wedding dress has been ready for a few weeks now, but she only picked it up a few hours ago and at first couldn’t take her eyes off it and then she couldn’t not try it on. It fit perfectly. Shame it was a dress for one day, Felicity felt like she could wear it all week long. She looked at her reflection in the big mirror and smiled to herself. The dress was all white, long, the soft material and lace looked perfect together. It wasn’t a fancy gown, but a classy yet original wedding dress that Felicity has always dreamt of. “But wait, why are you going to work? I thought we were supposed to go to the ice cream parlor with girls in an hour” said Felicity a little confused. 

Sara and Sadie wanted to buy some ice cream earlier today when Felicity was in the supermarket with them, but Felicity promised she’ll take them to the parlor in the evening to buy some ice cream. She wanted to distract Sara by taking her out because the little girl missed her parents. She’s never stayed that long without both of them at once or at least she didn’t remember she did. After she woke up in the morning she packed her things announcing that she had a lot of fun but now she wants to go home. Felicity just hugged her and said that she will go home after one more night and summoned all of her will to convince the unsure girl that it’s going to be a lot of fun. Sara started whining a little, but she really liked being with Sadie, Sadie’s dad and her new mommy so she unpacked her toys again and went to play with her friend. Actually Felicity thought they are like sisters. They still wanted to have the same clothes, the same hairstyles, they almost never fought, but when they did they quickly forgot about it, hugged and kept playing. 

“The meeting is not cancelled as I thought it is” sighed Oliver leaning on the door. “You could let me in, you know? I don’t believe in the bad luck thing and I wish I could see you in that dress” Oliver heard all the girls at the proposal party talking about it, but he’s never seen it and was way beyond curious. Even Diggle, Barry and Tommy talked about it because Felicity forced them to see it a thousand of times.

“You will tomorrow” laughed Felicity. “And now go away, I’ll call you when I’m changed. It will probably take some time, I don’t want to fold it, I have to be careful undressing” Felicity started taking the dress of carefully, but quickly so Oliver wouldn’t have to wait long. 

“Let me unzip you” whispered her fiance through the door, his voice husky. “I’ll be careful” he said and heard Felicity’s laugh.

“Like you were with all the dresses you’ve ripped off of me”

“I thought you didn’t mind” Oliver didn’t feel even an ounce of his anger anymore, flirting with Felicity he forgot about everything. He was wondering if after the wedding she’d still affect him like that. People said it changed once you’re married, but he couldn’t believe that they way she made him feel would ever change. 

“Well, I didn’t mind what came after” now Felicity was whispering loudly so he could still hear her through the bathroom door. Finally, she managed to hang the dress on the hanger and put it inside the garment bag so Oliver wouldn’t see it. 

“Come in” said Felicity opening the door. When Oliver was passing next to her he kissed her sweetly and whispered a soft “See you later”. After about five minutes he was already gone.

“Girls! Girls, where are you?” Felicity entered Sadie’s room and found the girls dancing in a messy room, all the princess dresses were on the floor, both girls and a big cuddly elephant were dressed in some shiny gowns that Thea bought for her niece. Paper crowns on their heads were folded probably because they kept falling to the ground and being stepped on when the “princesses” were dancing around the room.

“Hey, mommy” said Sadie and ran towards Felicity who melted every time she heard what Sadie calls her. “Wanna play with us? I’m a princess and you’re my mommy so you’re the queen”.

“Yes, you’re the queen Aunt City” Sara nodded quickly while saying this to her aunt. Felicity smiled widely. She will really be a Queen tomorrow.

“Hello my pretty princesses. I was just wondering if you’re hungry, I made a fruit salad that’s waiting for you in the kitchen”

“Mommy, you’re the queen, you don’t do anything”.

“Right” said Sara. “You ring a bell and you say what you want”.

“And the fairies do the magic…” continued Sadie.

“And you get the food” finished Sara.

“Oh…” Felicity laughed at what she heard, but pretending to be a queen for a while couldn’t hurt, right? “So, I rang a magical bell and asked my friend… Tinkerbell, the fairy to make a fruit salad for my princesses” said Felicity proud of herself that she could actually play along with the kids, but her smiled faded when she looked at Sadie and Sara. 

“What?”

“Tinkerbell? Mommy, she’s not the food fairy” answered the little girl and Sara only shook her head looking at Felicity like she’s a hopeless case. Felicity smiled sadly.

“Who’s the food fairy then?” she asked.

“We call her Cookie” said Sadie.

“Cookie? Like the… cookie? Okay, so can Cookie make a fruit salad?”

“Of course mommy, sure she can.”

“Well…” sighed Felicity. “Let’s go eat then” she said and the girls followed her to the kitchen. 

About an hour later Felicity was reading a book on the couch, from time to time checking up on the girls who were playing in Sadie’s room. They politely said they want to play alone. Apparently the Tinkerbell thing was a huge mistake and the girls assumed Felicity is no fun to play with. They asked her to give them some food for the picnic so Felicity prepared some sweets and two bottles of Sadie’s favorite strawberry juice and put it into a basket, right where picnic food should be. She felt a little left out, but she didn’t mind a moment with a book while the girls were obviously having fun. Oliver texted her that the meeting is slowly getting to an end so she hoped he’ll be back soon. The ice cream parlor was opened until late, but Sadie and Sara were supposed to go to sleep early. All of the sudden Felicity heard a loud cry. She immediately put the book down and ran to Sadie’s room. The light was turned off and when she turned it on she saw no one was there. The toys were laying all over the floor, but there was no sight of the girls, Elly, the basket and the blanket from the bed was gone. Felicity quickly turned around trying to stay calm. She could hear loud sobbing and she suddenly felt the adrenaline kicked in even more than a moment before. She saw a dim light coming from the bedroom and she opened the half closed door hurriedly. The lamp on a nightstand was on, the light was soft, but Felicity could see everything very clearly. Sara and Sadie were sitting awkwardly on the blanket, both crying, surrounded by the the mess of the food, spilled drinks and… Felicity’s wedding dress. It wasn’t white anymore, it had big pink dots from the juice everywhere, and one piece was strangely hanging in Sadie’s hands. For a moment Felicity couldn’t even hear girls’ cries, the loud pounding in her hear blocking other sounds. 

“Mommy!” cried Sadie, her tiny frame was shaking from violent sobs. “Mommy, mommy!” Felicity kneeled next to the girls and her destroyed dress and touched the soft material, her eyes wide. The dress was laying on top of Sara and on the brownies Oliver made. The chocolate stains were on the other side of the dress, the ribbon was all brown and pink.   
“What happened?” whispered Felicity trying to hold back the tears. Her ideal dress was dirty and torn, beyond saving and the wedding was in less than twenty hours. 

“We…” sobbed Sadie “We just wanted to see” she explained and started sobbing again. 

“…it’s too long…” hiccuped Sara quietly “… stepped on…”

“I fell… it was beau… beaufufiful…” yelled Sadie holding her small hands towards Felicity looking for any kind of consolation. “I…I broke a dress mommy… sorry mom!” Felicity was just sitting there watching the crying girls and her destroyed dress helplessly. “Mommy…” whimpered Sadie, truly scared of what may happen, her beloved mom didn’t want to hug her. She sat quietly, still shaking, watching Felicity carefully with wide eyes. Sara’s soft cries were still to be heard as the girl hugged herself and looked up shyly. Felicity didn’t even know when she started crying. Hot tears burnt her eyes and she let them fall, now she was the one who was sobbing. Through the tears she noticed Sadie’s hands reaching for her and she pulled the girl to her lap hugging her closely. Then she hugged Sara too, both girls were apologizing sincerely, but Felicity didn’t really care. She laid her head on her daughter’s head and cried until the tears stopped. Felicity stood up freeing herself from the hug. She picked the dress up and felt like she could start crying again. Even if she managed to wash it somehow which would be a miracle the dress was torn in a way Felicity didn’t even think was possible. 

“Mommy?” whispered Sadie hesitantly. “Sorry. Don’t cry mommy, we fix it.” She walked up to the dress and grasped the hanging part unintentionally tearing it even more, so now a small piece was left in her hand. Sadie made a squealing noise.

“We can’t fix it” said Felicity, her voice rough from crying. “There’s no way to fix it” she whispered. Sara walked to the bed where Felicity was sitting now. 

“We can glue it in place” she said taking the small piece from Sadie’s hand and placing it right where it was torn from. Felicity laughed bitterly. 

“Wedding is when you be… become m… my mommy” noticed Sadie after a moment of silence. “Does it m… mean you’re n… not my mommy anymore?” Felicity looked at the small girl whose breathing was getting faster and faster, tears were running down the cheeks and pure panic was to be seen in her eyes. Felicity started shaking her head and took Sadie’s hands in hers. “I was rude, you… you don’t want to be my mommy anymore” whispered Sadie in horror before Felicity pulled her into a bone crushing hug. 

“Shhh, sweetie it’s okay, don’t cry anymore. I love you” said Felicity silently. “I love you and I always want to be your mom. I am your mommy and nothing will change that, okay?” Felicity felt Sadie’s tense frame goes limp in relief and the girl cried wetting her shoulder. “Why did you do that? I told you not to play here, not to touch the dress” sighed Felicity. “Is daddy’s suit okay?” Sadie nodded her head and kept crying and muttering apologies. 

“We just wanted to see the beautiful dress again” explained Sara who now calmed down a little. “We didn’t want to destroy ” she whispered and hiccuped wiping the remains of tears from her cheeks. 

“We… We didn’t want to destroy” said Sadie quickly between sobs. “I’m so sorry mommy. You still my mommy?” She had to make sure again.

“Yes baby, I’m still your mommy. You just have to listen to mommy” said Felicity, her voice soft, but firm. “I have a reason when I tell you not to do something. Come here Sara, I want you to hug me too” Sara walked up to Felicity and hugged her hiding her face in the crook of her neck. “Don’t cry anymore baby girls” Felicity kissed their heads and took a deep breath. So now she’ll go on a wedding in some other dress. It wasn’t a disaster. She had plenty of dresses in the closet. All casual, but pretty. Who said a wedding dress has to be white? She had a few red dresses. It’s a happy color in China. “One of the red dresses has to work” decided Felicity. After a few minutes Sadie got up and ran to her room. Felicity wanted to follow her, but before she managed to get up Sadie was already back holding her piggy bank.

“Look mommy, we buy a new dress” said Sadie with excitement and before Felicity could react Sadie crashed the piggy bank against the floor. 

“Sadie…” started Felicity, but her daughter was already collecting all the coins from the floor. 

“City, my bracelet” said Sara and took her worthless plastic bracelet handling it to Felicity. “We sell it for money an buy a beautiful dress.”

“Oh, girls, that’s sweet of you…” Felicity didn’t know how to tell Sadie she broke her precious pink piggy bank in vain. “Yeah, I guess we could buy a new dress. I don’t have a white one in the closet.” Sadie’s savings were less than fifteen dollars and Sara’s bracelet costed maybe one, but Felicity appreciated their will to help. It warmed up her heart and made her smile. “Go clean the toys in Sadie’s room, we’ll wait for daddy and go shopping.” Felicity was surprised that both girls listened and quietly walked out of the room leaving Felicity with the mess from their picnic, pieces of a piggy bank, destroyed dress, fifteen dollars and a plastic bracelet.

After the meeting Oliver couldn’t wait to go home. He actually ran up the stairs, and entered the apartment. It was strangely quiet and dark. The only light came from the bedroom and that’s where Oliver went. There he found Sara, Sadie and Felicity laying together on the bed, talking. The wedding dress next to them, but why did the dress look awful? And then Oliver knew. The mess on the floor and spilled drinks explained why the dress was pink and folded. Then he noticed a small white piece of material laying on the ground and realised that the dress was not only dirty, but also torn. He walked up to Felicity and sat beside her taking her hand in his. 

“Felicity?”

“I should have let you in” she said. “You won’t see me in the wedding dress tomorrow” confessed Felicity. 

“How did it happen?” 

“The girls were playing. Wanted to see it again.” Sadie and Sara sat on the bed nervously looking at Oliver. 

“I’m so sorry” he whispered and leaned down to kiss Felicity’s neck. The dress was really beautiful, Oliver could imagine how she looked in it. He didn’t know what to say or do. Felicity was so excited about this dress and now it was ruined. 

“I wanted to surprise you… That’s why I didn’t want you to see me in it today” Felicity put her head on his shoulder.

“I know, it’s okay Felicity. Shh, it’s okay” he softly whispered to her ear and let her snuggle into him. “You look beautiful no matter what you wear.” The girls wanted to admit, but they only sat quietly worried that Oliver will shout at them for being rude. 

“But I don’t have a wedding dress Oliver” she sighed. “I can go in one of the red ones or I could go to the shopping center and buy a white one.”

“We’ll go look for a white one and if you don’t find anything then I’ll pick my favorite of the red ones for you.” In the dim light Oliver saw Felicity’s smile and he smiled too. “Do you have pictures of you wearing this dress?”

“Yeah, yeah… I do” answered Felicity still smiling.

“Good. You’ll show me them tomorrow” said Oliver and kissed his fiance. He could feel all the tension leaving her. He hoped he comforted her at least a little. 

“Sadie needs a new piggy bank” said Felicity between the kisses.

“And you need a new dress.” Oliver got up and took his phone out of the pocket. “Thea? Hi… We’ve got an emergency.” Oliver winked to Felicity and she smiled at him and kissed his cheek. 

“Get up girls, we have to dress up” said Felicity. She promised them some ice cream after all. She picked Sadie up in her arms and Oliver picked Sara and they headed to the corridor to put some jackets on and go shopping. Felicity didn’t forget to take Sadie’s money and Sara’s bracelet for good luck. With Oliver, the two girls and Thea by her side she was sure she’ll find a nice dress. And even if not all that really mattered was that she had a loving family. She hoped both Oliver and Sadie knew how much she loved them. She was going to prove it every single day. And so were they.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos, bookmarks and comments are always appreciated :))) If you have any questions just ask :) Thank you all for reading!!! I don't know when the next update will be, I hope very soon :)


	12. New Mommy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One shot number 2 :) TAKES PLACE BEFORE CHAPTER 11.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I said this chapter takes place before chapter 11 :) Edited by an awesome tumblr user olicityandsteroline. I hope you'll enjoy:

“Mommy!” Oliver and Felicity rapidly sit up in their bed, pulled out of dream land. Sadie ran into their room shouting happily and started jumping around the bed. Months had passed and she was still a little bit too short to climb on it. Exactly two weeks ago Sadie was told that her dad proposed to City. It meant that they  were getting married soon and Sadie would have a mom. After that Sadie kept asking when, so Felicity bought her a calendar, the one Sadie wanted the most with kittens, and marked the wedding day with a pink heart. From then on Sadie crossed the days that passed, waiting for the coveted date. Felicity’s heart hurt because of Sadie’s longing so Oliver got an idea about the proposal BBQ so Sadie wouldn’t have to wait too long. Today’s date was marked too and Felicity written “MOMMY” next to it.  
Sadie would finally call her mom. It wasn’t official yet, the adoption papers would be signed during the wedding ceremony, but Sadie and Felicity agreed that they were only silly papers. To Oliver, setting an exact date when Sadie could call Felicity her mom was only to explain to Sadie why this happened in the first place.  
“City and dad are getting married. That’s why City will be your mom.” Oliver remembered these words well, as if it was yesterday when Sadie was sitting on his thighs when he talked to her.  
“Rule number one,” murmurred Oliver laying his head on the pillow closing his eyes, “don’t wake mommy up. Especially when daddy’s sleeping next to her.”  
Felicity smiled and leaned down to help the little girl climb on the bed and hugged her tightly.  
“Good moring baby girl, did you sleep well?”  
“Yes, and you mommy?”, asked Sadie strangely accenting the last word.  
“Very well, and now why won’t you lay down next to daddy? We can still sleep a little.”  
“Not sleep, go meet Sara!”, scolded Sadie making Felicity laugh.  
“Sara will visit us later,” Felicity reached for her watch that was on the nightstand. “At four o'clock. It means that this hand has to be here.” Felicity pointed “4” on her watch and let Sadie look at it to understand that they still had many hours until Sara came to the summer house. The proposal BBQ was going to be there as Tommy and Thea still hadn’t seen that place after the renovation.  
Autumn had just started, but the summer weather lingered so it was still very warm and sunny. “And daddy couldn’t sleep last night so we should let him sleep now,” whispered Felicity knowing Oliver fell asleep after a rough night. Tommy was going to come with Laurel, Oliver’s very ex-girlfriend he cheated on which resulted in… (besides breaking up) having Sadie. Oliver and Laurel haven’t talked in three years after a great fight so he was nervous about the meeting. He knew she didn’t want to come, but Tommy, who started dating her some time ago, said he can’t choose between his best friend or his girlfriend so they would have to start acting civil around each other.  
“Okay, shhh,” whispered Sadie leaning over her dad’s face. “Sleep daddy,” she said quietly and kissed his cheek lightly. Then she looked at Felicity and also leaned down to kiss her cheek. Felicity smiled and hugged Sadie’s small body to herself.  
“Mommy?”  
“Yes?” Asked Felicity already half asleep.  
“You kiss me too. I can’t sleep without a kiss,” the girl reminded her. Felicity hugged her closer and kissed her head a few times before both she and Sadie fell asleep.  
When they woke up three hours later Oliver was already in the kitchen making breakfast. Sadie kept repeating the word “mom”, tickling Felicity who didn’t have to pretend the laugh even if her girl’s tickles weren’t tickling her at all.  
“I’m tickling you mom. Don’t escape, I’ll find and tickle you mommy!” Said Sadie and immediately made Felicity’s eyes water. Sure, she knew she would be able to love a child that doesn’t have her genes, but she has never thought she could do it so fast and so hard. All at once Sadie stopped her tickling attempts and Felicity noticed that fully clothed Oliver entered the room. Sadie immediately jumped from the bed into his open arms laughing loudly.  
“I was tickling mommy,” Felicity heard Sadie’s loud whisper. Oliver looked at her and only shook his head knowing Sadie’s tickles couldn’t even make anyone smile.  
“Really? That must have made you hungry. Guess what’s for breakfast.”  
“Mmm… Pizza!”, shouted Sadie excitedly.  
“No, little princess… Pizza for breakfast?”, wondered Oliver. “Felicity, you guess,” said Oliver smiling to his girlfriend.  
“Pancakes?”  
“No.”  
“Scrambled eggs?”  
“No.”  
“Waffles?”  
“Felicity, no, not waffles, you’ve slept in so I made sandwiches, you can eat them in the car,” said Oliver. He got his girls used to fancy breakfast but he still was surprised by Sadie’s reaction.  
“No, daddy, pizza.”  
“No one eats pizza for breakfast,” said Oliver carrying his daughter to her room to dress her up.  
“Tom does,” anwered Sadie with a frown.  
“What?” Oliver almost yelled. “Did Tommy give you that last week when he was here?”  
“Yes, pizza,” giggled Sadie.  
“Okay, at least he didn’t break anything this time,” sighed Oliver.  
xxx  
In the evening after dinner when the sun had already set, the table was visible only thanks to the candle lights.  
“Hello beautiful,” Tommy winked to Felicity who was in the kitchen trying to clean up a little. After the BBQ they all were getting ready for dessert.  
“Hey, if you’re looking for Sara she went to hide upstairs,” said Felicity quietly.  
Oliver’s best friend immediately ran upstairs and Felicity heard a soft giggle. She  bent down to look under the table.  
“Shh, don’t giggle little one or Tom will find you,” whispered Felicity to Diggles’ daughter and smiled. Sara immediately fell silent covering her mouth with her hand.  
Tommy, Thea and Roy were playing with the kids, running with them all evening. They started playing hide and seek about an hour ago and Sara was failing miserably. She had no idea how to hide, and laughing all the time she was always the first one to be found. Felicity thought helping her a little wouldn’t hurt anyone. Going out of the kitchen Felicity ran into someone, strong arms wrapped around her shoulders to keep her from losing balance.  
“John!” She said a little shocked.  
“Felicity! Head in the clouds, huh?” smiled Diggle.  
“Sorry, my thoughts got a little wild. You know…” Felicity blurted out. Dig only hook his head with a huge grin on his face. “Oh, I mean… I was just thinking!  Nothing wild, nothing… weird, just the usual stuff.”  
“Where can I find a spoon?” Asked Dig trying not to laugh.  
“Small spoon?” Felicity’s eyes gone wide. “I was not thinking about spooning. And I’m not thinking of it now”.  
“No, Felicity… I just need a tea spoon. The one from the sugar bowl got lost in my mug.”  
“Oh” Felicity laughed. “Great, awesome, okay… First drawer on the left,” said Felicity and waited for John before walking to the guests that were sitting outside  around the big table. It was a very warm evening, just enough for a thin jacket so no one wanted to be inside.  
“So is the wedding all ready?”  
“Yes, it is,” answered Felicity with excitement. “The dress is ready too, has been for a few days now, but I’m taking it home just before the wedding. You know, there’s no place at home to keep it. Lyla told me her dress was to big for your wardrobe. Not big in a size, hell no, just you know… lots of material. My dress is big too. Can I show you a photo?” John nodded, amused with her excitement and looked at the picture Felicity showed him.  
“Wow, it’s beautiful. Lyla would want to see it.”  
“She’s seen days ago,” squealed Felicity. “I’ve never seen such a beautiful dress! Look Dig, the lace here… At first I was scared it wouldn’t even fit me, you know when I first found her it was too big, but Thea…”  
“Knows a good tailor,” finished Dig who heard this story already from Oliver who had no idea what the dress looked like, but knew everything else about it. Both John and Felicity laughed in unison.  
“Hello! Everyone! I have an announcement to make.” Felicity heard her fiance’s voice when she got to the table. Tommy and Sara ran to the table and Sadie staying a little behind soon got to the table too. From under the table crawled Thea.  
“I found Auntie!” Yelled Tommy. “Good place to hide,” he added quieter this time and Thea smirked.  
“You would never find me, you can’t play this game,” she said holding back a laugh. “Okay, shh, my big brother has an announcment to make.” Thea whispered something to Sadie’s ear and the girl walked up to her dad standing beside him before Walter lifted her up so she could see everything. Felicity walked up to Oliver as well, knowing exactly what he was going to say. It was a proposal party after all.  
“Firstly… thank you all for coming,” said Oliver trying to sound calm. He could feel Felicity’s presence next to him and it gave him confience. “Mom… it’s good to see you. Walter, John, Lyla, Sara, Tommy, Laurel, Thea, Roy, Cisco, Barry, we’re very happy you made it today.  
“And me?” Asked Sadie a little confused that her dad forgot about her name.  
“And Sadie,” added Oliver and saw his little princess sighed in relief. “I know it’s a little late,” he continued, “because all of you already have wedding invitations,  but… I proposed to Felicity…”  
“Who after three seconds of thinking happily agreed to be your wife,” said Felicity leaning into Oliver who had his arms wrapped around her waist.  
“These were really long three seconds,” Oliver took a deep breath and felt his fiance’s hand squeezes his own. “After I luckily became Sadie’s dad a few years ago I never thought I could have what I have now, a real family… And I’m honoured to say that you’re my family, all of you. And it’s good to have you. All of you,” he said looking at first at his mom and then at Laurel who stood looking at him with a smile wrapped in Tommy’s arms. “So yeah, that’s it. And now there’s something that Sadie wants to tell you, she couldn’t wait for that moment. Sadie?” The girl lifted her arms to wrap them around Felicity’s neck.  
“I have a mommy!”, shouted Sadie loudly hugging Felicity who hugged her back and kissed her a million of times before putting her down when someone said that the time to eat the cake had come.  
xxx  
The last guests left leaving Oliver, Felicity and Sadie alone. The adults were talking on a couch about their party laughing quietly from time to time. Oliver’s worst nightmare- meeting Laurel- went very well, she didn’t talk a lot to him, but got friendly with all other guests and with Sadie. She played with her a little when the others were busy. Suddenly they heard small feet hitting the floor.  
“Sadie, what are you doing here?” wondered Oliver, shifting on the couch to see his daughter in her pajamas hugging the new stuffed animal she got from Tommy. He got her a cuddly dolphin and didn’t correct her when she said it was a beautiful fish. It was the middle of the night after an amazing day at the summer house.The little girl was very tired after running all day with Tommy, Thea, Roy and Sara, but apparently something woke her up.  
“Can’t sleep, miss my new mommy!” Said Sadie happily, running towards the couch to hug attack Felicity.  
“Okay, I admit I feel a little left out,” said Oliver moving closer to his precious girls and wrapping his arms around them.  
“Love you daddy,” whispered Oliver’s daughter, touching her dad’s face with her small hands. He felt Felicity’s hand rubbing his back as her other hand hugged Sadie closer. Oliver placed a kiss on his daughter’s head and looked at Felicity who was staring at him with a small smile that he knew very well. She was happy. And so was he. And so was Sadie. She laid her head on Oliver’s shoulder and closed her eyes.  
“I love you too my princess. And I love you Felicity.”  
"Love you too… Both of you. Well, we’re going to be a family, we all love each other,” Felicity closed her eyes too, sighing.  
“Can I sleep with you?” asked Sadie. “I don’t want to miss you anymore. You too dad,” begged Sadie. Oliver and Felicity looked at each other smiling.  
“Sure you can,” said Oliver picking Sadie up and carrying her upstairs. Felicity followed with a grin on her face knowing how tomorrow’s morning would look like. Sadie had to have a whole bed to herself so Oliver usually slept on the rug next to the bed when his daughter was kicking too much. That’s what they loved- the perfect imperfections that kept them together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading!!! Merry Christmas and thank you again for being here :) I don't know when the next update will be :( I'm crazy busy with school. See you! :)


	13. Wedding Day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My wonderful tumblr friend justokayskybluepinkviolinistcat edited this chapter :) THANK YOU FOR KUDOS AND BOOKMARKS AND COMMENTS!!!! They mean a lot to me! I hope you'll like this chapter :)

Felicity stood in Thea’s room looking at her reflection in the mirror. She did look pretty. Her hair was knotted into a beautiful updo, loose curls falling onto her shoulders. The makeup was perfect. Not too casual, but delicate. Felicity would have felt pretty if it wasn’t for her dress. She was meant to wear the dress of her dreams, the one she had chosen weeks ago, but last night Sadie and Sara had managed to destroy it. Her beautiful, long princess gown was now lying torn and stained at the bottom of the closet because Felicity couldn’t bring herself to throw it out. Thea had helped her pick out another dress that was very nice and fit Felicity perfectly, but it was a plain, white dress from a shopping center that had been bought earlier this morning. It wasn’t long like the previous one, but a knee length dress with lace sleeves and a lace cutout in the back. Thea and Felicity had tried looking in bridal salons, but without a result. Felicity could still feel tears burning her eyes when she thought about her perfect dress. Last night she had struggled to stay calm. Oliver was trying his best to support her, but he was livid. He didn’t know how he managed not to yell at the girls because he certainly wanted to. Felicity had been talking about her bridal gown for months and now seeing her so disappointed truly hurt him. Sadie and Sara never stopped apologizing, but even their sincere apologies wouldn’t bring her dress back.

“You look amazing,” said Thea, walking up to Felicity. “You really do. Oliver’s jaw’s gonna drop! And my brother says you look good in those… weird sweats of yours… you know, the ones that scream "Batman!” They’re not very fashionable. You know that. I’m a future Queen of Fashion so you just have to agree with me.“  
"Is it because they’re not fashionable or you just don’t like Batman?” asked Felicity trying not to sound like she was in utter despair.  
“I do like Batman, it’s just… there are so many other superheroes that are awesome and no one has ever seen them on a piece of clothing! That’s disrespectful,” reasoned Thea.  
“Well that’s true,” Felicity smiled, “every superhero deserves to be loved and printed on pants.” Thea giggled and started pinning the veil into Felicity’s hair. They heard a rapid knocking on the door and a second later Donna, Felicity’s mother, jumped into the room and two small girls followed her inside. “Yayyy!” squealed Donna. “My baby girl is getting married!” She squealed even louder and ran to Felicity, handing her the bouquet. “You look so beautiful! But… long sleeves? What, are you eighty?”  
“Mom!” the bride whispered loudly.  
“Well at least your legs are showing.”  
“And the back,” said Felicity, looking at herself in the mirror.  
“What? Oh, that?” Donna stood behind her daughter. “No one will even notice…”  
“Mommy so beaulitiliful!” sang Sadie adorably, swaying on her toes with excitement. She was wearing a short, pink fairy-like dress and Sara, who stood behind her, wore a matching yellow one. The girls had chosen the colors all by themselves and had been proudly announcing that they were the flower girls to everyone all morning.  
“Yes, Aunt City, you are really and very and truly beautiful.” said Sara with a serious expression making everyone laugh quietly.  
“Thank you my pretty princesses,” said Felicity. She leaned down to hug them.  
“Okay girls, it’s time to go!” Caitlyn, Felicity’s maid of honor, entered the room with a notebook and a pen in her hands, checking something on her “Wedding Day List”. “Everything we have to take with us is already in the limo. Except for your flowers; so don’t even think of letting them go.”  
“Yeah City, just hold them in your deadly grip, they’ll look better that way.” joked Thea, walking up to Felicity to give her a reassuring hug. “You’re beautiful. And you’re about to become my sister! It’s the most important day of my life! I’ve always wanted to have a sister.” she confessed.  
“I’ve always wanted a sister too,” said Felicity smiling at the younger woman.  
“Me too!” whispered Sadie. Everyone looked at her. Felicity blushed and took a breath a little too loudly.  
“Sorry girls, we’re two minutes behind schedule!” said Caitlyn breaking the deathly silence. No one knew if it was better to laugh or not.  
“Yes Mommy! Dad’s ready. And so funny, he’s walking and walking and walking around this long car.” said Sadie holding Sara’s hand and leading her friend out of the room.  
“Oh my poor brother… I’ll run and check on him.” Thea ran downstairs towards the door to reach Oliver before Felicity did. After a long walk down the stairs in sky-high high heels, the bride opened the door with shaky hands and left the Queen’s mansion. In the yard stood a white limo, someone was already inside it, probably Diggle. Caitlyn went to sit with the girls and started to call Tommy, who was nowhere to be seen. Felicity’s eyes moved to rest on her future husband. He was looking wonderful in a perfect suit, a bowtie around his neck. And he really was pacing around the car…  
“Oh frack!” whispered Felicity, “Why is he pacing?”  
“Why do these poor flowers look like they were picked a month ago?” Her mom whispered back, pointing at the flowers in Felicity’s hands. “I’d better take them away from you before you make them look even worse!”  
“Thanks mom,” Felicity said and let her mom hug her.  
“See you baby girl,” Donna had tears in her eyes and Felicity wasn’t far from it either.  
“See you,” was all she could manage to say because suddenly, all the guilt hit her hard. She had wasted years being mad at her mother all because of a stupid misunderstanding. Wasn’t today supposed to be the best day of her life? So far it was all but good. She felt like she was about to cry, but then her eyes landed on Oliver who had stopped moving around and was now frozen in place, looking at her. Felicity walked up to him as fast as she could.  
“Hey handsome,” she said, smiling.  
“Hello beautiful,” Oliver was also smiling. There was something so familiar about her that always made him smile, no matter how sad, angry or nervous he was. They were about to start a new chapter of their life together and they were both looking forward to it.

xxx

Oliver and Felicity were facing each other, holding hands. Next to them stood Caitlyn and Tommy, Sadie and Sara between them grinning excitedly.  
“Are they married?” asked Sadie pulling Tommy’s sleeve. She looked very unhappy. “Tom, are they married?”  
“Shh, no, not yet.” he whispered to the little girl and took her hand, trying to comfort her.  
“When?” Sadie asked again.  
“When they kiss it means they are married, okay?”  
“But Tom…”  
“Shh, just a little longer princess. That’s the best part,” said Tommy, silently hoping the marrying couple wouldn’t notice the commotion. Felicity took a wedding ring from a soft white pillow.  
“Aunt Cait, I…”  
“Just a minute baby girl, try standing still. Listen, mommy’s going to say a beautiful thing…”  
“I, Felicity Smoak, promise you solemnly that I love you with my whole heart and that I will remind you of it every single day of our life. I swear for better or for worse to be by your side…”  
“Mommy!” squealed Sadie and Felicity immediately stopped. Both she and Oliver looked at their daughter. Oliver shook his head with a stern look in his eyes and Sadie lowered her head, Tommy and Caitlyn whispering something in her ears. Felicity didn’t know what to do. She quickly tried to remember the next verse of her vow, suddenly forgetting everything. Her palms were sweaty in Oliver’s hands, cheeks burning and hot tears forming behind her eyes. She wished she could let go already. Whoever said a wedding day was the best day of a girl’s life deserved to go through what she had been going through. Oliver felt the same. His tuxedo seemed to be soaking wet. It was too hot; his head was pounding, heart about jumping out of his chest. He could feel everyone’s eyes on him and the huge hall suddenly felt claustrophobic. He noticed Felicity forgetting what to say and felt her hands trembling, which made him even more frustrated. He squeezed Felicity’s palms, looked back into her eyes and took a deep breath. Felicity immediately understood what he wanted and she took one slow, deep breath too.  
“I swear for better or for worse to be by your side, and to support all of your decisions. I will also…” Felicity paused again. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sadie with a desperate look on her face.  
“Daddy!” she whined, tears going down her face. Oliver was immediately by her side and Felicity’s heart stopped. Was Sadie doing her jealousy thing again? In the middle of the wedding? The bride walked up to Sadie and the little girl reached to hug her.  
“Mommy I need to pee!” she sobbed, clinging to her mom for dear life. Felicity almost laughed. She pulled Sadie closer and hurried towards the corridor. She got the girl to the bathroom quickly. The last thing she needed on her wedding day was a “wet situation”. Oliver stood startled for a minute.  
“Excuse me, I’ll be right back,” he said holding back a laugh, and quickly left the room following his wife to be and his daughter.

When Oliver entered the bathroom Sadie was sitting on the sink counter while Felicity was wiping her tears with a tissue.  
“Oh girls… What happened?”  
“Nothing at all, Sadie needed to go to the bathroom and just got stressed a little, right little girl?” Felicity wondered how it was possible that her nervousness faded away so fast. All it took was a crying little girl for her to get a grip.  
“Wanted wait… until you marry daddy… you were talking so long,” Sadie was still shaking from her sobs when she tried to explain what happened. “Couldn’t wait anymore,” she said and reached for Oliver.  
“You angry daddy? I could not wait anymore.”  
“No, I’m not angry at you baby girl, it’s okay,” Oliver picked Sadie up. “Mom’s not angry either,” he assured, looking at Felicity.  
“Of course not. But… Oliver…” Felicity looked nervous again. “I had your ring in my hands and then Sadie started crying and I carried her here and… I don’t have the ring anymore.” Hearing how broken she sounded Oliver threw an arm around her waist, pulling her into a hug.  
“Yeah, I was pretty surprised when you almost broke my finger putting it on,” said Oliver and showed Felicity his hand. In the middle of his middle finger there was the ‘lost’ wedding ring. Oliver took it off and put it on properly.  
“Uh… nevermind. And can we please get married already?” She asked hiding her face in the crook of his neck.  
“Well, yes please! I feel like we’re in sauna! Is the air conditioning broken or what?”  
“No, I think it’s just us,” confessed Felicity, “I’ve heard it’s normal to be nervous on your wedding day.” Oliver nodded.  
“What are we nervous about though?” he asked.  
“The people. They pinch!” whined Sadie and hugged Oliver even closer.  
“What?” wondered Felicity, “Who would dare to pinch my daughter?”  
“Old ladies. Here,” she explained pointing to her cheeks.  
“Oh sweetie! Don’t worry, stay close to us and no one will pinch you ever again,” Oliver promised.  
“Kay…”  
“So can we go? I want to marry your mommy.”  
“Let’s go! Quickly!” squealed Sadie in excitement and Oliver carried her out of the bathroom, Felicity following right behind them.  
They entered the room full of guests Moira and Donna insisted on inviting. All of them were smiling, laughing even, which was a good sign. No one was annoyed by the delay. Sadie hid her face in Oliver’s chest, clearly ashamed. The minister smiled as soon as they approached their seats.  
“We can continue now,” said Oliver taking Felicity’s hand, still holding Sadie with the other.  
“I’ll be quick in case any of you wants to go… you know… as well. So… um… Oliver, I love you and I love Sadie. And I admit that I love her way more than I thought I ever would. And I know that I want to spend my whole life with you,” vowed Felicity and squeezed Oliver’s hand letting him know it’s his turn. With one hand Oliver reached for the wedding ring and started talking.  
“I prepared a pretty good vow, but it’s really long so… Felicity I love you and I want you to know that I want to be with you for better or for worse till death do us part.” Oliver put the ring on the bride’s finger and they both looked at the minister, smiling.  
“Mr. and Mrs. Queen, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride,” added the Minister looking at Oliver. With Sadie in his arms, Oliver leaned down and kissed Felicity quickly on her lips before pulling her into an embrace. “Maybe this day is not so bad after all?” asked Oliver in Felicity’s ear.  
“It’s pretty good,” she whispered back and kissed his cheek.  
“Can we go eat finalalalaly?” wondered Sadie. Her parents laughed.  
“Yes, baby girl,” said Oliver, “We’re all very hungry now.” He put Sadie on the ground and she went to stand next to Sara. The music started playing and the flower girls lead the just married couple out of the hall towards the room where the party was about to start. After all the stress came the happiness. Felicity had a real family now. Not only a husband and daughter, but she also got her mom back after a seven year fight over something silly none of them could remember. Maybe wedding days weren’t so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading!!! You are amazing! Thank you for all comments again... I'm counting on some under this chapter too :) See you all!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :) All nice comments are requested and appreciated :) Sorry for possible mistakes in notes. There's a good reason why the chapters have to be edited ;)


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